UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
AT  AMHERST 


UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

Special  Collections  &  Rare  Books 


HISTORY 


FALL     RIVER, 


WITH   NOTICES   OF 


FREETOWN    AND   TIVERTON, 


AS  PUBLISHED  IN  1841, 


BY    REV.    ORIN   FOWLER,  A.  M., 


TOGETHER  WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE   LIFE   OF    REV.  ORIN  FOWLER ; 
AN  EPITOME  OF  THE   MASSACHUSETTS  AND   RHODE  ISLAND 
BOUNDARY    QUESTION;    AN   ACCOUNT    OF   THE    GREAT 
FIRE   OF  1843;    AND    ECCLESIASTICAL,    MANUFAC- 
TURING,  AND    OTHER    STATISTICS. 


FALL     RIVER: 

Almy  &  Milne,  Printers,  Daily  News  Steam  Press 

1862. 


IT  W 


■ 


y  F 

ITS 


m 


AMHERST,  MASS, 


\l\m 


ORIN    FOWLER. 


*Orin  Fowler,  the  eldest  son  and  sixth  child  of  Captain  Amos  and 
Rebecca  (Dewey)  Fowler,  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Conn.,  July  29, 
1791.  His  early  years  were  spent  in  laboring  upon  his  father's 
farm,  though  he  was  engaged  for  two  winters— when  he  was  sixteen 
and  seventeen  years  old— in  teaching  a  school. 

He  fitted  for  college  under  the  instruction  of  his  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ripley,  and  entered  Williams  College  in  the  autumn  of  1811. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  term  he  took  his  dismission,  and  after  study- 
ing again  for  a  while  under  Mr.  Ripley,  and  also  for  one  term  at  the 
Academy  at  Colchester,  he  entered  the  Sophomore  class  in  Yale  Col- 
lege in  October,  1812.  Here  he  maintained  an  excellent  standing  as 
a  scholar,  being  distinguished  in  the  more  solid,  rather  than  in  the 
more  graceful  branches.  A  few  months  previous  to  his  graduation, 
he  accepted  the  Preceptorship  of  the  Academy  at  Fairfield,  Conn., 
and  held  the  place— discharging  its  duties  with  great  fidelity  and 
acceptance— until  the  autumn  of  1816,  when  he  resigned  it,  that  he 
might  devote  himself  more  exclusively  to  theological  studies,— Dr. 
Humphrey,  then  minister  of  Fairfield,  afterwards  President  of  Am- 
herst College,  taking  the  direction  of  them. 

He  was  licensed  to  preach  on  the  14th  of  October,  1817,  by  the 
Association  of  the  Western  District  of  Fairfield  County.  Having 
preached  occasionally  in  different  places,  chiefly  in  Fairfield  County, 
but  without  any  reference  to  settlement,  he  decided  in  March,  1818. 
to  go  on  a  mission  to  the  Western  country.  He  was  ordained  with 
a  view  to  this,  at  Farmington,  at  a  meeting  of  the  North  Associa- 
tion of  Hartford  County,  on  the  3d  of  June  following,  and  the  same 

•From  "  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,"  by  William  B.  Sprague,  D.  D. 


ORIN    FOWLER. 


day  rode  twenty-one  miles  toward  his  field  of  missionary  labor. 
Having  spent  about  one  year  laboring  in  phio,  Kentucky  and  Indi- 
ana, and  perhaps  some  other  of  the  Southwestern  States,  he  returned 
to  New  England,  by  way  of  Virginia,  in  the  summer  of  1819. 

Having  preached  with  acceptance  at  several  different  places,  he 
accepted  an  invitation  to  supply  the  pulpit  at  Plainfield,  Conn.,  in 
the  winter  of  1819-20,  and  shortly  after  received  a  call  to  become 
the  pastor  of  the  church.  In  clue  time  he  signified  his  acceptance  of 
it,  and  was  installed  on  the  1st  of  March,  1820. 

Mr.  Fowler  remained  the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Plainfield  for 
nearly  eleven  years,  when,  owing  to  some  peculiar  circumstances 
existing  in  the  parish,  it  was  thought  expedient  that  he  should  be 
dismissed  from  his  pastoral  charge  ;  and  this  accordingly  took  place 
on  the  27th  of  January,  1831.  The  council,  in  dissolving  the  pas- 
toral relation,  rendered  an  unqualified  testimony  to  his  Christian  and 
ministerial  character. 

Almost  immediately  after  leaving  Plainfield,  his  services  were  re- 
quired by  the  church  at  Fall  River,  and  he  was  installed  there  on 
the  7th  of  July  of  the  same  year,  the  installation  sermon  being 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  McEwen,  of  New  London. 

In  the  year  1841,  Mr.  Fowler  delivered  three  discourses,  contain- 
ing an  historical  sketch  of  Fall  River  from  1620  to  that  time.  In 
this  sketch  he  referred  to  the  boundary  line  between  Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island,  that  had  then  been  in  dispute  for  about  a  century. 
Not  long  after,  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Fall  River  on  the 
subject  of  the  boundary,  Mr.  Fowler,  without  his  consent  or  even 
knowledge,  was  placed  upon  a  committee  to  defend  the  interests  of 
the  town  before  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  two  States.  This 
service  he  promptly  and  ably  performed  ;  but  the  Commissioners 
came  to  a  decision  in  which  the  people  of  Fall  River  were  little  dis- 
posed to  acquiesce,  and  they  resolved  upon  an  effort  to  prevent  the 
establishment  by  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  of  the  line  fixed  upon 
by  the  Commissioners.  Mr.  Fowler  now  published  a  series  of  pa- 
pers in  the  Boston  Atlas,  designed  to  present  before  the  public  mind 
the  historical  facts  sustaining  the  claims  of  Massachusetts  ;  but  even 
his  most  intimate  friends  did  not  know  that  he  was  the  author  of 
them.  When  the  authorship  was  ascertained,  there  was  a  general 
voice  in  favor  of  his  being  chosen  to  the  Senate  of  the  Common- 
wealth at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature.     Pie  was  accordingly 


OIJIN    FOWLER. 


elected  in  the  autumn  of  L847,  and  the  Senate,  chiefly,  it  is  said, 
through  his  influence,  rejected  the  report  of  the  Commissioners  by  a 
unanimous  vote.  Such  was  the  estimation  in  which  lie  came  now  to 
be  held  as  a  legislator,  that  in  the  autumn  of  1848,  before  his  Sena- 
torial term  had  expired,  the  people  of  his  district  elected  him  to  the 
thirty-first  Congress.  Here  his  influence  was  extensively  and  be- 
nignly felt,  and  his  advocacy  of  the  cheap  postage  bill,  particularly, 
is  said  to  have  been  highly  effective. 

Mr.  Fowler,  during  the  time  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Senate,  supplied  his  own  pulpit,  cither  in  person  or  by 
proxy,  and  continued  to  perform  his  pastoral  duties  until  the  last  of 
November,  1849,  when  he  left  Fall  River  to  take  his  seat  in  Con- 
gress. Agreeably  to  a  previous  understanding,  he  was  dismissed 
from  his  pastoral  charge  by  the  same  council  that  installed  his  suc- 
cessor, in  the  spring  of  1850. 

During  his  connection  with  Congress,  he  often  supplied  the  pulpits 
in  Washington  and  the  vicinity,  and  preached  for  the  last  time  in  the 
autumn  of  1851.  On  the  night  of  the  27th  of  August,  1852,  he 
had  a  slight  attack  of  illness,  but  the  next  day  was  able  to  be  in  his 
seat  in  Congress  as  usual.  A  day  or  two  after,  the  attack  was  re- 
peated, but  relief  was  again  obtained  after  a  few  hours.  It  was 
soon  found,  however,  that  his  disease,  so  far  from  being  dislodged 
from  his  system,  was  taking  on  an  alarming  form,  and  that  his  sys- 
tem was  rapidly  sinking  under  it.  After  he  became  convinced  that 
his  recovery  was  hopeless,  he  requested  to  be  left  alone  with  his  wife, 
when  he  offered  a  comprehensive  and  affecting  prayer,  without  wan- 
dering or  repetition — mentioning  especially  both  the  churches  of 
which  he  had  been  pastor.  After  this  he  began  to  speak  of  his 
spiritual  state,  and  said  : — "I  have  tried  to  live  in  peace  with  God 
and  man."  But  the  difficulty  of  respiration  did  not  allow  him  to 
proceed.  He  languished  until  the  3d  of  September,  and  then  gently 
fell  into  his  last  slumber. 

His  remains  were  taken  for  burial  to  Fall  River,  and  were  received 
by  his  former  charge,  as  well  as  his  fellow  citizens  generally,  with 
every  testimony  of  consideration  and  respect.  His  funeral  sermon 
was  preached  by  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Relyea. 

Mr.  Fowler  was  married  October  16th,  1821,  to  Amaryllis,  fourth 
daughter  of  John  How  Payson,  of  Pomfret,  Conn.  They  had  no 
children. 


OIJIN    FOWLER. 


Besides  various  speeches  in  Congress,  and  contributions  to  periodi- 
cals, newspapers,  &c,  Mr.  Fowler  published  a  sermon  preached  at 
the  ordination  of  Israel  G.  Rose,  at  Canterbury,  in  1825  ;  a  Disqui- 
sition on  the  Evils  attending  the  use  of  Tobacco,  1833  ;  Lectures  on 
the  Mode  and  Subjects  of  Baptism,  1835  .;  History  of  Fall  River, 
1841  :  Papers  on  the  Boundary,  1847. 


NOTICE. 

I>-  the  delivery  of  the  following  discourses,  those  portions  of  them  not  suited  to 
the  services  of  the  Sabbath,  were  omitted;  and  some  matter  suited  to  the  day  and 
the  occasion,  was  delivered,  which  is  not  printed.  The  numerous  facts  recorded  in 
this  Sketch,  have  been  collected,  and  their  accuracy  has  been  tested,  by  unwearied 
labor  and  research.    It  is  believed  they  may  be  relied  upon  as  substantially  correct. 

The  author  takes  pleasure  in  acknowledging  his  obligations  to  the  man}'  friends 
who  have  assisted  his  enquiries;  and  he  will  only  add,  that  if  these  discourses  shall 
aid,  in  the  humblest  manner,  in  saving  from  oblivion  the  early  history  of  Fall 
Kiver,  and  in  promoting  her  future  prosperity,  he  will  be  amply  rewarded. 


HISTORY    OF    PALL    RIVER. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


PSALMS   XLIV.   1,  2,  3. 

We  have  heard  with  our  ears,  0  God,  our  fathers  have  told  us,  what  work  thou 
dtdst  in  their  days,  in  the  times  of  old.  How  thou  didst  drive  out  the  heathen 
with thy  hand,  ana  planted*  them;  how  thou  didst  afflict  the  people,  and  cast 
Them  out.  For  they  got  not  the  land  in  possession  by  their  own  sword  nethei 
did  their  own  arm  save  them;  but  thy  right  hand,  and  thine  arm,  and  the  light 
of  thy  countenance,  because  thou  hadst  a  favor  unto  them. 

How  changed  the  scene  around  us  this  morning,  from  what  our 
ancestors  beheld,  when,  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago,  they  came 
and  fixed  here  the  place  of  their  habitation,  and  began  the  settlement, 
of  this  town !     The  little  river  that  rolls  its  rapid  waters  through 
our  village,  imparts  its  name  to  our  town,  and  puts  in  motion  a 
mass  of  machinery  sufficient  to  give  business  and  bread  to  half  of 
our  population ;  the  waters  of  the  beautiful  Bay  that  spreads  out  her 
bosom  before  us  ;  the  hills  and  the  valleys  around  us  ;  the  great  river 
upon  our  right,  and  the  rocky  mount  in  our  front ;  these  all  remain 
substantially  as  they  were,  while  the  wolf,  the  wild  cat,  the  timid 
deer,  and  the  untutored  savage,  claimed  this  as  their  ancient  and 
rightful  dominion.     But  all  else,  how  changed!  The  thick,  dark  for- 
ests have  disappeared ;  the  wild  beasts  that  roamed  these  forests,  are 
gone ;  and  the  Indians  that  inhabited  these  hills  and  valleys,  and  here 
kindled  their  council  fires,  and  shouted  the  war  song,  have  passed 
away  like  the  leaves  of  their  native  woods.     Where   then  was  a 
"  waste,  howling  wilderness,"  we  behold  cultivated  fields  and  smiling 
gardens  ;  instead  of  savage  tribes,  we  behold  communities  of  civilized 
men ;  instead  of  the  murky  Indian  hut,  we  behold  comfortable  houses, 
and  large  factories,  and  splendid  public  edifices  ;  instead  of  the  Indian 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    EI  VEIL 


canoe,  silently  darting  along  our  bay  in  pursuit  of  the  beaver  or  black 
fish,  we  behold  the  elegant  steamboat  and  the  stately  ship  proudly 
floating  on  its  bosom,  laden  with  the  products  of  other  climes ;  in- 
stead of  the  war-whoop,  and  the  cry  of  savage  cruelty,  we  hear,  all 
around  the  voice  of  peace  and  comfort,  and  listen  to  the  song  of 
thanksgiving  and  praise,  rising  from  thousands  of  grateful  hearts  to 
the  throne  of  the  living  God.  We  are  not  come  together,  as  were 
our  fathers,  in  fear  and  want,  and  gloomy  bodings,  to  offer  our  wor- 
ship under  the  spreading  trees  of  the  forest,  beneath  an  inclement 
sky.  We  are  assembled  in  the  enjoyment  of  plenty,  and  bright  vis- 
ions of  the  future ;  in  the  temple  dedicated  to  one  God,  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost ;  surrounded  with  everything  that  makes  society 
sweet  and  life  happy. 

The  first  twenty-five  years  of  the  existence  of  this  Church,  is  now 
completed,  and  we,  as  an  organized  congregation,  have  reached  a 
period  in  our  own  history,  when  it  seems  proper,  to  review  the  past, 
and  thank  God,  and  gird  up  our  loins  for  the  future. 

"We  have  heard  with  our  ears,  O  God,  our  fathers  have  told  us, 
what  work  thou  didst  in  their  days,  in  the  times  of  old.  How  thou 
didst  drive  out  the  heathen  with  thy  hand,  and  plantedst  them ;  how 
thou  didst  afflict  the  people,  and  cast  them  out.  For  they  got  not 
the  land  in  possession  by  their  own  sword,  neither  did  their  own  arm 
save  them ;  but  thy  right  hand  and  thine  arm,  and  the  light  of  thy 
countenance,  because  thou  hadst  a  favor  to  them."  If  this  passage 
had  been  designed  by  the  sacred  writer,  to  apply  to  the  early  settle- 
ment of  Plymouth  Colony,  it  could  not  have  been  more  appropriate  ; 
and  were  our  fathers  here  to  write  their  own  memorial,  it  would  cer- 
tainly begin  and  end  with  such  sentiments  as  are  breathed  in  the  text 
— they  would  write  "Not  unto  us,  O  Lord ;  not  unto  us,  but  to  thy 
name  give  glory."  While  then  we  sketch  the  early  history  of  this 
place,  let  us  keep  our  eye  steadily  fixed  upon  the  hand  of  God,  scarcely 
less  visible  in  the  first  settlement  and  subsequent  prosperity  of  New 
England,  than  it  had  been,  in  planting  his  ancient  covenant  people 
in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

It  was  my  original  design  to  present  a  succinct  history  of  this 
Church  and  Society  only.  But  as  I  proceeded  in  the  execution  of 
my  purpose,  I  was  persuaded  that  a  more  extended  narration  might 
be  profitable,  especially  to  the  young:  I  shall  therefore  attempt  a 
brief  sketch  of  the  earlier  as  well  as  the  later  history  of  our  village, 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVEE 


including  the  towns  of  Fall  River  and  Tiverton,  together  witli  Free- 
town and  the  neighboring  region,  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  elucidate 
the  history  of  our  own  place. 

The  order  I  propose  to  pursue  is,  to  sketch 
I.     The  Aboriginal  History : 
II.     The  Civil  History,  and 

III.     The  Ecclesiastical  History  of  this  place  ;  and  particularly  of 
this  church.     I  begin 

I.  With  the  Aboriginal  History  of  this  place  and  vicinity. 
The  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  took  place  December 
22d,  1620.     At  that  time  the  Indian  name  of  the  country  lying  be- 
tween Providence  river  and  Taunton  river,  was  Pokanoket.     Indeed 
the  whole  country  eastward  of  Seekonk  and  Providence  rivers,  compris- 
ing what  now  constitutes  Bristol,  Plymouth,  Barnstable,  Dukes  and 
Nantucket  counties,  was  inhabited  by  tribes  known  by  the  general 
name  of  Pokanokets,  sometimes  written  Pawkunnaukutts.     The  ter- 
ritory comprising  Bristol,  Warren  and  Barrington,  K.  I.,  and  a  part 
of  Eehoboth,  Mass.,  was  inhabited  by  the  tribe  called  Wampanoags.* 
The  chief  seat  of  this  tribe  was  at  Mount  Hopef,  called  by  the 
Indians  Mont-haup,  or   Mon-top;    the   more   ancient  name  of  the 
Mount  was  Pokanoket,  or  Pawkunnaukutt,  a  name  given  by  the 
Narragansetts.     Pokanoket  signifies  "the  wood  or  land  on  the  other 
side  of  the  water,"  the  appropriateness  of  which  will  be  seen  when 
it  is  recollected  that  the  Narragansetts  lived  on  the  west  side  of  the 
waters  of  the  Narragansett  Bay.     Massasoit  was  the  name  of  the 
chief  Sachem  of  the  Wampanoags.  J     He  was  regarded  as  the  chief 
Sachem  of  the  different  petty  tribes  occupying  the  whole,  or  nearly 
'  the  whole  of  these  five  counties,  together  with  Bristol  county,  Ehode 
Island,  and  his  authority  was  recognized  by  other  tribes  living  far- 
ther North.     Massasoit  kindly  welcomed  our  fathers  to  these  shores, 
and  always  lived  on  terms  of  sincere  friendship  with  them.     He  was 


*This  tribe  was  sometimes  called  Pokanokets. 

tMount-Hope  is  about  tAvo  miles  east  of  Bristol,  and  within  that  ancient  town. 
It  is  an  eminence,  steep  on  all  sides,  and  terminating  in  a  large  rock,  which,  at  a 
distance,  has  the  appearance  of  a  large  dome  of  an  amphitheatre.  From  many 
points  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Mount-Hope  Bay,  particularly  at  the  village  of  Fall 
River  (four  or  five  miles  distant,)  the  Mount  forms  a  beautiful  acclivity  in  the 
landscape,  somewhat  resembling  a  remote  view  of  the  State  House  in  Boston. 

tit  was  the  Indian  custom  frequently  to  change  their  names.  Massasoit  was 
sometimes  called  Oosamaquin,  or  Asuhmequin ;  though  he  is  more  generally  known 
in  history  by  the  name  of  Massasoit.  After  him  one  of  the  Cotton  Factory  compa- 
nies  and  the  largest  factory  building  in  this  place,  are  called. 


10  HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER. 

a  remarkable  man.  Though  a  mere  savage — ignorant  of  letters,  even 
of  reading  and  writing,  and  though  he  always  resisted  every  effort  to 
convert  him  to  Christianity,  and  died  a  Pagan — yet  there  was  an 
intrinsic  dignity  and  energy  in  his  character,  winch  gave  him  un- 
bounded influence  over  his  subjects  and  inferior  Sachems.  The 
native  qualities  of  his  intellect  and  his  heart  were  so  commanding 
and  so  peaceful,  that  he  gained  the  loyalty,  controlled  the  extrava- 
gant passions,  and  secured  the  personal  confidence  of  his  subjects, 
and  for  nearly  half  a  century  preserved  peace  and  harmony  between 
them  and  our  fathers.  He  was  highly  valued  and  much  respected 
by  his  English  neighbors,  and  greatly  beloved  by  his  own  people. 
Hobomok,  an  Indian  who  became  a  believer  in  Christianity,  and 
maintained  his  Christian  character  to  the  end  of  life,  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  this  venerable  chief.  This  Christian  Indian  was  sent 
by  the  Governor  of  Plymouth,  in  company  with  Edward  Winslow, 
to  visit  Massasoit,  and  to  furnish  him  with  medicine  when  he  was 
dangerously  sick.  News  (which  proved  to  be  erroneous)  was  received 
while  on  their  way,  that  Massasoit  was  dead.  Hobomok  was  greatly 
grieved  at  the  intelligence,  and  addressing  Winslow,  said — "While 
you  live  you  will  not  meet  the  like  of  Massasoit  among  the  Indians. 
He  was  no  liar,  nor  bloody,  nor  cruel  like  others  of  his  race.  In 
anger  and  passion  he  was  soon  reclaimed.  He  was  easy  to  be  rec- 
onciled toward  such  as  had  offended  him.  His  reason  was  always 
open,  and  he  governed  his  people  better  with  few  blows  than  others 
did  with  many."  Of  the  year  of  Massasoit 's  death  we  are  not  cer- 
tainly informed  ;  it  probably  occurred  in  1661  or  1662,  when  his  age 
exceeded  fourscore  years. 

Massasoit  had  two  sons.  The  name  of  the  elder  son  was  Wam- 
sitta,  or  Wamsutta ;  (his  earlier  name  was  Mooanam  ;)  and  of  the 
younger,  Metacomet,  (sometimes  written  Metacom,  and  Pumeta- 
cumb.)  These  sons,  while  at  Plymouth,  after  the  death  of  their 
father,  professed  great  friendship  for  the  whites,  and  desired  English 
names ;  whereupon  Governor  Prince  named  the  elder  brother  Alex- 
ander, and  the  younger  Philip  ;  probably  from  Alexander  and 
Philip  of  Macedon.  Alexander  was  the  successor  of  Massasoit  as 
chief  Sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,  or  Pokanokets ;  indeed,  during 
the  latter  part  of  his  father's  life,  he  seems  to  have  shared  his  au- 
thority. He  survived  Ins  father  but  a  short  period,  (probably  only  a. 
few  months,)  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Philip,  who  became 


HISTORY    Or    FALL    RIVER.  11 

chief  Sachem  or  king  in  1CG2.  Of  Philip  we  shall  speak  more  fully 
hereafter. 

Pocasset  was  the  Indian  name  of  the  territory  now  included  in 
Swanzey,  Somerset,  Fall  River  and  Tiverton  ;  and  this  territory  was 
inhabited  (in  1C20)  by  the  Pocasset  tribe,  of  which  Corbitant  was 
Sachem.*  At  that  time  the  Pocasset  tribe  was  not  numerous,  hav- 
ing been  greatly  reduced  in  numbers,  in  common  with  the  neighbor- 
ing tribes,  by  the  sweeping  pestilence  of  1612.f 

Corbitant 's  chief  residence  was  at  Mattapoiset,  J  (now  Gardner's 
Neck,)  in  Swanzey.  He  probably  resided  a  part  of  the  time  at  or 
near  where  this  village  now  is.  He  was  one  of  the  most  renowned 
Sachems  within  the  dominions  of  Massasoit ;  but  unlike  that  vene- 
rable man,  was  opposed  to  the  whites,  whom  he  viewed  as  intruders, 
and  probably  designed  to  exterminate,  if  opportunity  presented.  His 
character  strongly  resembled  that  of  the  famous  King  Philip.  How 
or  when  he  died,  we  are  not  informed.  Some  have  supposed  that 
the  Indian  skeleton,  now  in  the  Fall  River  Athenasum,  is  that  of  the 
Sachem  Corbitant.  § 

The  successor  of  Corbitant,  as  Sachem  of  the  Pocasset  tribe,  was 
a  female — probably  she  was  his  daughter.  Her  name  was  Weeta- 
more,  sometimes  written  Weetamoe.  ||  Her  head-quarters  were  on 
the  spot,  as  is  believed,  where  this  village  is  now  built.  She  had 
another  residence  near  Howland's  bridge.  Weetamore  was  twice 
married — first  to  Alexander,  the  eldest  son  of  Massasoit,  and  after 
his  death  to  Petananuet,  called  familiarly  Peter  Nunnuit.  Early 
historians  speak  of  her  as  a  woman  of  superior  intelligence,  and  as 

*One  of  our  Cotton  Factory  companies  is  called  the  Pocasset  Company;  and  the 
principal  Hotel  in  the  place  was  built  by  said  Company  in  1833,  and  is  a  splendid 
building. 

f  Some  have  supposed  that  pestilence  was  the  small  pox.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it 
nearly  depopulated  what  is  now  the  Eastern  section  of  Massachusetts. 

J  A  part  of  Rochester,  also,  was  called  Mattapoiset— sometimes  written  Mattapois. 

§A  human  skeleton  found  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  in  the  sand-bank  in  the  south- 
east part  of  this  village.  This  skeleton  was  buried  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  the 
body  was  found  to  be  enveloped  in  a  covering  of  coarse  bark,  under  which,  on  the 
breast,  was  a  plate  of  brass,  and  below  this  a  belt  of  brass  tubes  encircling  the 
body,  and  enclosing  arrows  of  brass.  Whether  or  not  anything  was  engraved  upon 
this  brass  plate,  it  is  impossible,  from  its  corroded  state,  to  determine.  The  skele- 
ton is  in  a  tolerable  state  of  preservation,  and  was  evidently  the  body  of  a  distin- 
guished personage.  When  found,  the  head  was  only  about  one  foot  below  what  had 
been  for  many  years  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

||She  was  called  also  Namumpum  and  Tattapanum.  The  deed  of  Freetown, 
given  by  the  Indian  Chiefs,  is  signed  by  Wumsitta,  (i.  e.  Alexander,)  and  a  squaw 
named  Tattapanum.  I  think  without  doubt  Tattapanum  was  Weetamore,  the 
Squaw  Sachem  of  Pocasset. 


12  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

"potent  a  Sachem  as  any  round  about  her,  and  as  having  as  much 
corn,  land  and  men  at  her  command."  When  Philip's  war  was  ap- 
proaching, he  had  the  address  to  secure  her  countenance  and  aid,  by 
insinuating  (without  the  least  reason,)  that  the  authorities  at  Plym- 
outh had  poisoned  his  brother  Alexander,  her  former  husband.  Pe- 
tananuet  was  not  concerned  in  Philip's  war  against  the  English,  but 
forsook  his  wife,  and  joined  them  against  her,  and  was  employed 
with  very  great  advantage  by  the  whites.  Weetamore  having  joined 
Philip,  his  fortunes  became  thenceforward  her  own.f 

Having  spoken  of  Philip's  war,  (as  it  is  usually  called,)  it  will  be 
proper  to  spend  a  few  moments  upon  some  of  the  events  of  it  which 
transpired  hi  this  neighborhood ;  especially  as  this  place  and  vicinity 
was  the  seat  of  some  of  its  important  incidents,  and  also  as  Capt. 
(afterwards  Col.)  Benjamin  Church,  the  leading  opponent  and  con- 
queror of  Philip,  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  resident  at  this  place, 
and  an  owner  of  the  land  on  which  a  portion  of  this  village  stands. 

King  Philip's  talents  were  of  the  highest  order.  As  a  politician, 
he  was  the  greatest  of  savages.  He  clearly  foresaw  that  the  spread- 
ing dominion  of  the  English — their  arts,  their  knowledge,  their  dis- 
cipline, and  their  constant  numerical  increase,  would  inevitably  result 
in  the  expulsion  of  the  aboriginal  race  from  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
While,  therefore,  he  saw  the  whites  extending  their  settlements  over 
the  dominions  of  his  ancestors,  in  all  directions,  he  easily  kindled 
into  resentment.  Considering  himself  and  his  brethren  the  original 
proprietors  and  lords  of  the  soil,  he  formed  a  plan  to  prevent  the  loss 
of  Ins  liberties  and  his  country.  This  plan  had  for  its  object,  the 
entire  annihilation  of  all  the  whites  in  the  land. 

For  several  years  Philip  was  busily  engaged  in  enlisting  the  vari- 
ous tribes  of  New  England  in  his  plot,  and  in  preparing  for  complete 
success ;  and  had  not  his  designs  been  revealed  to  the  English, 
through  the  fidelity  of  two  or  three  friendly  Indians,  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  Philip's  purpose  would  have  been  accomplished,  and  not  a 
single  white  person  would  have  been  left  to  transmit  to  after  ages  an 
account  of  the  early  settlement  of  Plymouth  Colony. 

Philip's  designs  being  discovered,  the  war  was  begun  prematurely 
in  June,  1G75,  by  an  attack  upon  the  English  at  Swanzey.     This 

fThe  Indian  name  of  Little  Compton  was  Sogkonate,  (afterwards  Seaconnet,  or 
Seconet,)  and  it  was  inhabited  by  the  Seaconet  tribe,  at  the  head  of  which,  when 
Philip's  war  commenced,  was  an  influential  female  Sachem,  named  Awashonks. 


HISTOEY    OF   FALL   RIVER.  13 

war,  which  lasted  loss  than  two  years,  was  of  the  most  sanguinary 
and  dreadful  character.  One  of  the  first  important  battles  was 
fought  July  8,  1675,  between  fifteen  white  men  under  command  of 
Captain  Church,  and  three  hundred  Indians,  at  Puncatees,  (some- 
times written  Puncatest,)  now  the  South  part  of  Tiverton.  The 
battle  was  fought  in  and  near  a  peas  field  belonging  to  Capt.  Almy, 
and  is  called  "  Almy's  peas  field  fight."  The  contest  lasted  six  hours, 
when  Church  and  his  men,  after  a  most  desperate  defence,  and  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  single  man,  were  rescued  from  their  perilous  condi- 
tion by  a  sloop  commanded  by  Captain  Golding,  who  approached 
them  from  a  small  ledgy  island,  a  little  South  of  Howland's  bridge. 
The  island  thenceforward  took  the  name  of  Gold  Island,  or  Golding's 
Island,  which  it  still  retains.  Church  was  pious  as  well  as  resolute. 
During  the  fight,  when  some  of  his  men  were  disheartened  and  ready 
to  surrender,  he  encouraged  them  by  affirming  "that  the  remarkable 
and  wonderful  providence  of  God,  in  hitherto  preserving  them,  en- 
couraged him  to  believe  with  much  confidence  that  God  would  yet 
preserve  them,  and  that  not  an  hair  of  their  heads  should  fall  to  the 
ground. " 

July  18,  1675,  ten  days  after  the  battle  at  Puncatest,  there  was 
another  battle  with  Philip  and  Weetamore,  and  their  warriors,  in  the 
great  Pocasset  swamp,  which  lies  a  little  South  of  this  village,  and 
stretches  several  miles  (with  now  and  then  a  solid  strip  of  land) 
through  the  interior  of  Tiverton.  The  army  of  the  English  did  not 
arrive  until  late  in  the  day,  but  soon  entered  resolutely  into  the 
swamp.  Though  the  first  that  entered  were  shot  down,  the  rest 
rushing  forward,  soon  forced  the  Indians  from  their  hiding  places, 
and  took  possession  of  their  wigwams,  about  one  hundred  in  number  ; 
but  night  approaching,  a  retreat  was  ordered.  The  attack  was  des- 
perate. Sixteen  brave  men,  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  were  killed. 
Philip  and  Weetamore,  and  most  of  their  warriors,  made  their  es- 
cape by  crossing  Taunton  river,  just  above  this  village,  and  fleeing  to 
the  West.*  About  one  hundred  of  their  people  were  left  behind, 
who  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

It  will  not  comport  with  the  design  of  this  discourse  to  trace  out 
the  movements  of  the  contending  forces  in  other  and  more  remote 
sections  of  New  England.     We  can  only  gay  that  the  war  was  pros- 

*The  Indian  name  of  Taunton  Great  River  was  Tehticut,  or  Titicut. 


14  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 

ecutecl,   with  great  courage  and  slaughter  on  both  sides,  till  mid- 
summer in  1676,  when  the  Indians  were  defeated  in  several  success- 
ive battles,  large  numbers  of  them  were  made  prisoners,  their  most 
valiant  captains  were  taken  or  slain,  and  Philip  himself  was  killed. 
Among  the  officers  commanding  the  forces  of  our  ancestors,  Capt. 
Benjamin  Church  was  prominent  ; — indeed  as  a  bold,  intrepid,  suc- 
cessful  fighter,    he   was   the   most   prominent  officer.     For  fifteen 
months  he  was  almost  constantly  in  pursuit  of  the  foe,  or  in  perilous 
and  bloody  fight.     On  the  31st  of  July,  1676,  he  fell  upon  Philip 
and  his  warriors,  between  Taunton  and  Briclgewater,  and  took  many 
prisoners,  among  whom  was  Philip's  wife  and  little  son,  nine  years 
of  age.     Six  days  after,  (August  6,)  Weetamore,  the  Squaw  Sachem 
of  Pocasset,  being  closely  pursued,  was  drowned  in  returning  to  Po- 
casset, while  attempting  to  cross  Taunton  river  upon  a  raft,  at  or 
near  Slade's  Ferry ;  and  thus  ended  her  earthly  career.     A  few  days 
after,  Capt.  Church  came  with  his  company  to  Pocasset,  in  pursuit 
of  Philip,  but  not  finding  him  here  he  crossed  over  the  ferry,  (now 
Howland's  bridge)  to  the  Island,  when  just  at  evening  an  Indian 
named  Alderman,  of  the  Pocasset  tribe,  arrived  from  Mount  Hope 
and   informed  him  that  Philip  with  his  warriors  was  in  a  swamp 
near  the  Mount,  and  that  he  had  shot  his  (Alderman's)  brother  that 
afternoon  for  proposing  to  Philip  to  make  peace  with  the  English. 
Alderman  offered  to   pilot  Capt.  Church  to  the  spot  where  Philip 
was,  and  forthwith  Church  crossed  Tripp's  Ferry  (now  Bristol  Ferry) 
with  his  company,  and  at  day -light  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of 
August,  1676,  they  had  surrounded  the  swamp  in  which  Philip  was 
encamped.     Church  placed  two  men,  an  Englishman  and  a  friendly 
Indian  together,  at  suitable  distances  around  the  swamp,  and  sent  an 
officer  with  a  small  party  of  men  into  the  swamp  to  commence  the 
attack  and  drive  Philip  and  his  company  out.     The  enterprize  was 
successful,  and  Philip,  as  he  was  fleeing,  was  shot  through  the  heart 
by  Alderman,  whose  brother  Philip  had  killed  the  day  before  :  and 
with  him  were  slain  several  of  his  trustiest  followers.     Thus  fell  the 
celebrated  King  Philip.* 

Never  perhaps  did  the  fall  of  a  warrior  or  a  prince  afford  more 
scope  for  solid  reflection.  Philip  was  certainly  a  man  of  great  pow- 
ers of  mind,  and  his  death  in  retrospect,  makes  different  impressions 

*The  steamboat  plying  regularly  between  this  port  and  Providence,  is  called 
King  Philip,  after  thelndian  Sachem. 


HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER.  15 

from  what  were  made  at  the  time  of  the  event.  It  was  then  con- 
sidered as  the  extinction  of  a  virulent  and  implacable  enemy  ;  it  is 
now  viewed  as  the  fall  of  a  great  warrior, — a  penetrating  statesman, 
a  mighty  prince.  It  then  excited  universal  joy  and  congratulation, 
as  a  prelude  to  the  close  of  a  merciless  war: — it  now  awakens  sober 
reflection  on  the  instability  of  empire,  the  destiny  of  the  aboriginal 
race  and  the  inscrutable  decrees  of  heaven.  The  patriotism  of  the 
man  was  then  overlooked  in  the  cruelty  of  the  savage,  and  little 
allowance  was  made  for  the  natural  jealousy  of  the  prince,  on  ac- 
count of  the  barbarities  of  the  warrior.  Philip,  in  the  progress  of 
the  English  settlements,  forsaw  the  loss  of  his  territory,  and  the 
extinction  of  his  race,  and  he  made  one  mighty  effort  to  prevent  the 
catastrophe.  Had  his  resources  been  equal  to  those  of  his  opponents, 
their  ruin  would  have  been  entire.  This  exterminating  war  would 
perhaps  never  have  been  known  to  succeeding  ages  of  civilized  men. 
But  while  we  drop  the  tear  of  humanity  over  the  destiny  of  Philip, 
the  assurance  of  the  justice  and  equity  of  our  ancestors,  in  giving  a 
fair  equivalent  for  the  lands  purchased  of  the  natives,  is  highly  con- 
soling. The  excellent  and  upright  Gov.  Winslow,  of  Plymouth 
Colony,  in  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  dated  at 
Marshfield,  May  1676,  says  :  "I  think  I  can  clearly  say,  that  before 
these  present  troubles  broke  out,  the  English  did  not  possess  one  foot 
of  land  in  this  colony  but  what  was  fairly  obtained  by  honest  pur- 
chase of  the  Indian  proprietors ;  nay,  because  some  of  our  people 
are  of  a  covetous  disposition,  and  the  Indians,  in  their  straits,  are 
easily  prevailed  with  to  part  with  their  lands,  we  first  made  a  law 
that  none  should  purchase  or  receive  by  gift  any  land  of  the  Indians, 
without  the  knowledge  and  allowance  of  our  court."  [Vide  Hub- 
bard's Narrative.*]  Thus  justice  was  aimed  at  by  the  leaders  and 
government  of  Plymouth  Colony.  And  it  is  no  doubt  true  that 
"  our  ancestors  uniformly  acknowledged  the  natives  to  be  the  right - 

^Further  proof  of  the  justice  and  benevolence  of  our  ancestors  towards  the  In- 
dians, is  furnished  by  their  self-denying  labors  to  instruct  and  christianize  them. 
The  venerable  John  Elliot,  (born  1604,  died  1690,)  was  in  his  prime,  and  had  done 
much  for  the  Indians  previous  to  Philip's  war.  He  began  to  preach  to  the  Indians, 
in  their  own  tongue,  as  early  as  1646.  He  once  preached  the  Gospel  to  King  Philip, 
who  rejected  it  with  disdain.  He  translated  the  Bible,  and  other  Christian  books, 
into  the  language  oi  the  Indians.  An  edition  of  his  Indian  Bible  was  printed  in 
1663,  and  a  second  edition  in  1685.  These  were  printed  at  Cambridge,  and  were 
the  first  editions  of  the  Bible  printed  in  America.  Holmes  (vol.  1,  pp.  415,  419  of 
his  annals)  says  that  in  1681  there  were  in  Plymouth  Colony  1439  praying  Indians, 
besides  children,  who  were  supposed  to  be  three  times  that  number;  and  that  in 
1696  "there  were  in  New  England  thirty  Indian  churches." 


16  HISTOEY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

ful  owners  of  the  soil ;  and  with  the  exception  of  the  Pequod  coun- 
try, (which  was  obtained  by  conquest,)  there  is  the  fullest  evidence 
that  the  lands  in  New  England  were  obtained  by  fair  purchase  of 
the  natives." 

Sixteen  days  after  Philip  was  slain,  i.  e.,  August  28,  Annawan, 
his  chief  captain,  was  taken.  His  capture  furnishes  one  of  the  most 
astonishing  instances  of  daring  intrepidity,  on  the  part  of  Captain 
Church,  recorded  in  modern  or  ancient  history.  Annawan  was  in  a 
great  swamp,  called  Squannaconk,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Rehoboth, 
and  had  with  him  fifty  or  sixty  of  Philip's  most  resolute  warriors. 
Church,  having  left  his  lieutenant  and  most  of  his  company,  was  out 
several  miles  from  them,  on  a  scout,  having  only  one  white  man  and 
five  or  six  friendly  Indians  with  him.  While  thus  scouting,  he  cap- 
tured an  old  Indian  and  a  young  squaw,  who  were  just  from  Anna- 
wan's  camp.  From  them  he  ascertained  the  locality  and  condition 
of  Annawan.  Learning  that  Annawan  rarely  spent  two  nights  in 
one  place,  Church  resolved  to  attempt  to  capture  him  that  very  night ; 
and  not  having  time  to  return  to  his  lieutenant  for  his  whole  com- 
pany, he  proceeded  forthwith  to  Annawan's  retreat,  with  only  one 
white  man  and  half  a  dozen  friendly  Indians  to  accompany  him, — 
"assuring  them  that  if  they  would  cheerfully  go  with  him,  the  same 
Almighty  Providence  that  had  hitherto  protected  and  befriended 
them,  would  do  so  still."  Before  midnight  he  surprised  Annawan* 
and  liis  warriors,  and  took  them  prisoners,  without  firing  a  gun,  and 
without  the  loss  of  a  man.  [Vide  History  of  Benjamin  Church, 
p.  131] 

Thus  the  death  of  Philip,  and  the  capture  of  his  chiefs  and  war- 
riors, was  the  signal  of  complete  and  final  victory.  The  Indians,  in 
all  this  region,  immediately  submitted  to  the  English,  or  fled  and  in- 
corporated themselves  with  distant  tribes.  And  before  the  year 
1676  closed,  Philip's  war  was  terminated,  and  with  it  the  Indian 
wars  of  Massachusetts  proper.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  region  contended  for  their  supremacy, 
and  lost  it,  where  just  one  century  later  the  children  of  their  con- 
querors contended  for  independence,  and  gained  it. 

In  this  short  but  tremendous  war  with  Philip,  about  six  hundred 
of  the  English — composing  their  principal  strength — were  either  killed 
in  battle  or  murdered  in  cold  blood  by  the  enemy  ;  twelve  or  thirteen 


*One  of  our  Cotton  Factory  Companies  is  called  the  Annawan  Company, 


HISTORY.  OF   FALL    RIVER.  17 

towns  were  entirely  destroyed ;  and  about  six  hundred  buildings, 
chiefly  dwelling  houses,  were  burnt.  In  addition  to  this,  an  enor- 
mous debt  was  contracted,  and  most  appalling  sufferings  were  en- 
dured. 

Perhaps  some  of  my  youthful  headers  may  ask,  what  became  of 
Annawan  and  his  principal  associates  ?  They  were  carried  to  Plym- 
outh, and  there  executed  by  order  of  the  government.  Capt.  Church 
remonstrated  against  this  course,  but  in  vain.  In  later  times,  the 
conduct  of  the  government,  in  this  particular,  has  been  much  cen- 
sured,— it  certainly  does  seem  severe.  But  we  should  remember  that 
many,  very  many,  whole  families  of  the  English  had  been  murdered 
by  these  very  Indians,  in  cold  blood  ;  indeed,  there  was  scarce  a  fam- 
ily in  the  Colony  who  had  not  mourned  the  death  of  one  or  more  of 
its  relatives,  tortured  and  murdered  by  the  Indians.  Moreover,  An- 
nawan and  others  had  been  declared  outlaws  by  the  government, 
long  before  they  were  taken ;  and  he  confessed  that  he  had  put  to 
death  several  of  the  English  who  were  taken  alive,  (ten  in  one  day,) 
not  denying  that  some  of  them  were  tortured.  These  facts  should 
not  be  forgotten  in  forming  an  opinion  of  the  measures  of  the  gov- 
ernment. Still,  we  lament  the  sad  end  of  the  native  heroes  of  the 
soil  we  now  occupy,  and  can  do  it  in  no  language  more  appropriate 
than  that  of  President  Dwight : 

"  Indulge  our  native  land,  indulge  the  tear 

That  steals  impassioned  o'er  a  nation's  doom ; 
To  us  each  twig  from  Adam's  stock  is  dear, 

And  tears  of  sorrow  deck  an  Indian's  tomb." 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  sketch  of  the  aboriginal  history  of  this 
place  and  vicinity,  there  are  three  particulars  in  which  the  finger  of 
Divine  Providence  is  most  signally  manifested  in  the  early  settlement 
of  this  part  of  New  England. 

1.  In  removing  the  great  body  of  the  Indians  by  pestilence,  six 
or  eight  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  first  English  settlers.  Of  the 
occasion  of  that  sore  judgment,  we  have  nothing  now  to  say.  The 
fact  is  notorious.  God  had  good  and  wise  reasons  for  their  removal ; 
and  their  remarkable  removal  just  at  this  juncture,  prepared  the  way 
for  the  settlement  of  another  people ;  herein  is  seen  the  hand  of  God. 

2.  In  raising  up  for  the  first  white  settlers  a  friend  so  firm,  so 
influential,  so  unvarying  as  was  Massasoit,  to  hold  the  few  Indians 
still  living,  in  check,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  till  the  colonists  had 


18  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

felled  the  forests  and  built  dwellings,  and  become  sufficiently  strong 
and  numerous  to  act  on  the  defensive.  If  the  natives  had  continued 
as  numerous  as  they  were  before  that  pestilence,  or  if  such  a  man  as 
Philip  had  stood  in  the  place  of  his  father,  no  European  could  have 
gained  a  permanent  foothold  in  New  England. 

3.  In  raising  up  such  a  man  as  Benjamin  Church  for  the  defence 
of  the  Colonists,  and  in  preserving  his  life  amid  the  imminent  perils 
to  which  he  was  subjected.  Church  was  certainly  a  wonderful  man, 
raised  up  for  a  most  difficult  service.  He  says  himself,  "through 
the  grace  of  God  I  was  spirited  for  that  work,  and  direction  in  it 
was  renewed  to  me  day  by  day.  Although  many  of  the  actions  I 
was  concerned  in  were  difficult  and  dangerous,  yet  myself,  and  those 
who  went  with  me  voluntarily  in  the  service,  had  our  lives,  for  the 
most  part,  wonderfully  preserved  by  the  overruling  hand  of  the  Al- 
mighty, from  first  to  last — and  to  declare  His  wonderful  work,  is  our 
indispensable  duty.  I  was  ever  very  sensible  of  my  own  unfitness  to 
be  employed  in  such  great  services.  But  calling  to  mind  that  God 
is  strong,  I  endeavored  to  put  all  my  confidence  in  Him,  and  by  His 
Almighty  power,  was  carried  through  very  difficult  actions  ;  and  my 
desire  is  that  his  name  may  have  all  the  praise." 

At  the  formation  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Bristol,  R.  I., 
1687,  (in  the  days  of  Rev.  Samuel  Lee,)  Church  was  a  member. 
He  is  represented  by  his  son  as  constant  and  devout  in  family  wor- 
ship, wherein  he  read  and  often  expounded  the  Scriptures  to  his 
household.  In  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  in  attending  the 
worship  and  ordinances  of  God  in  the  sanctuary,  he  was  exemplary. 
As  a  warrior,  he  seems  to  have  understood  perfectly  the  best  manner 
of  coping  with  the  Indians  ;  and  it  was  in  battling  with  them  that  his 
success  was  wonderful.  His  surprisal  and  capture  of  Annawan  and 
his  warriors,  was  an  act  of  heroic  boldness  which  has  no  parallel  in 
modern  times. 

Previous  to  Philip's  war,  Church  had  purchased  and  commenced 
operations  upon  a  plantation  at  Seaconet,  now  Little  Compton.  His 
operations  there  were  suspended  by  the  war  ;  and  when  it  was  over, 
he  lived  first  at  Bristol,  then  at  Fall  River,  and  lastly  at  Little  Comp- 
ton, where  he  died  and  was  buried.  On  his  tomb-stone  is  the  fol- 
lowing inscription : 

"Here  lieth  interred  the  body  of  the  Honorable  Col.  Benjamin 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVEB.  19 

Church,  Esq.,  who  departed  this  life  January  17th,   1717-18,  in 
the  78th  year  of  his  age." 

Another  hand  has  added  : 

"  High  in  esteem  among  the  great  he  stood, 
His  wisdom  made  him  lovely,  great  and  good ; 
Though  he  be  said  to  die,  he  will  survive ; 
Thro'  future  time  his  memory  shall  live." 

[See  Appendix,  Note  A.]* 

II.     The  Civil  History. 

Fall  Eiver  was  a  part  of  Freetown  till  1803.  Hence  the  earlier 
history  of  our  town  is  that  of  Freetown. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  1656,  the  General  Court  of  Plymouth  granted 
to  sundry  of  the  ancient  freemen  of  that  jurisdiction,  namely :  Capt. 
James  Cudworth,  Josiah  Winslow,  senior,  Constant  Southworth  and 
John  Barnes,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  other  freemen,  a  certain 
tract  of  land  East  of  Taunton  River,  from  Assonetf  Neck  to  Que- 
quechan,  and  extending  East  four  miles.  On  the  2d  of  April,  1659, 
a  warrantee  deed  of  what  is  now  included  in  the  towns  of  Freetown 
and  Fall  Eiver,  was  given  to  Capt.  James  Cudworth  and  others,  by 
Ossamequin,  i.  e.,  Massasoit,  Wamsitta,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Massasoit,  and  Tattapanum,  (supposed  to  be  the  wife  of  Wamsitta, 
the  Squaw  Sachem  of  Pocasset,  usually  called  Weetamore.)  [See 
a  copy  of  this  deed,  Note  B,  Appendix.]  This  deed  was  signed  by 
Wamsitta  and  Tattapanum,  and  sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses,  and  was  duly  acknowledged  June  9,  1659.  Ossame- 
quin never  signed  the  deed.  By  some,  it  is  supposed  that  he  died 
before  it  was  completed.  That  he  lived  a  year  or  two  later  is  prob- 
able, though  not  certain.  If  living  at  the  time  this  deed  was  exe- 
cuted, he  was  very  aged,  and  perhaps  declined  business,  or  commit - 

*Indian  Names  of  Places  in  this  Vicinity.  —  Pocasset — Fall  River  and 
Tiverton.  Seaconnet— Little  Compton.  Punkatees,  or  Punkatest— South  end  of 
Tiverton.  Aquetneck,  or  Aquidneck,  or  Aquidnick,  or  Aquetnet — Rhode  Island : 
which  was  called  hy  the  English,  the  Isle  of  Rhodes,  after  the  Island  of  Rhodes  in 
the  Mediterranean,  near  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor;  and  hence  Rhode  Island.  Poka- 
noket— Bristol.  Keekamuit,  or  Kickamuit— Warren  and  Bristol.  Mattapoiset,  or 
Mattapois — Swanzey  and  Rochester.  Namasket — Middleborough.  Ponaganset,  or 
Aponaganset — Dartmouth.  Assawamset — Ponds  in  Middleborough.  Cushnet,  or 
Acushnet — River  between  New  Bedford  and  Fairhaven.  Tehticut,  or  Titacut — 
Taunton  Great  River.  Sconticut— Fairhaven.  Agawam— Wareham,  Ipswich  and 
West  Springfield.  Pappoosesquaws,  or  Papposquash,  or  Poppysquash  Neck— The 
point  opposite  Bristol.  Shawmut — Boston.  Sowams,  or  Sowamsett — Somerset. 
Cohannet — Taunton.  Mooshausick — Providence.  Nannaquacut,  or  Quacut — A 
point  of  land  in  Tiverton,  South  of  the  Stone  Bridge. 

f  Assonet  is  an  Indian  name,  signifying,  it  is  said,  a  song  of  praise. 


20  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

ted  it  to  the  hands  of  his  eldest  son,  Wamsitta.  The  consideration 
for  this  purchase  is  mentioned  in  the  deed  ;  and  though  it  seems 
small  at  the  present  time,  it  was  probably  a  fair  price  then,  and  was 
so  considered  by  all  parties.  Thus  it  appears  that  the  lands  of  Free- 
town and  Fall  River  were  obtained  peaceably,  and  for  a  satisfactory 
consideration.  The  purchasers  were  freemen  in  the  towns  to  which 
they  severally  belonged,  and  the  purchase  was  called  the  Freemen's 
Purchase ;  and  hence  the  town,  when  it  was  incorporated,  was 
called  Freetown.  The  first  settlers  were  principally  from  Plymouth, 
Marshfield  and  Scituate.  Some  were  from  Taunton,  and  a  few  from 
Rhode  Island.  The  early  names  were  Cudworth,  Winslow,  Morton, 
Read,  Hathawa}r,  Durfee,  Terry,  Borden,  [See  Note  O,  Appendix,] 
Brightman,  Chace,  Davis.  Freetown  was  incorporated  in  1683.* 
The  Freemen's  Purchase  was  divided  into  twenty-six  shares,  and  the 
shares  were  set  off — whether  by  lot  or  otherwise  does  not  appear — 
to  the  several  purchasers.  After  the  division  into  shares  was  made, 
there  was  a  piece  of  land  between  the  first  lot  or  share  and  Tiver- 
ton bounds,  which,  in  1702,  it  was  voted  by  the  proprietors  should 
be  sold  "to  procure  a  piece  of  land  near  the  centre  of  the  town,  for 
a  burying  place,  a  training  field,  and  any  other  public  use  the  town 
shall  see  cause  to  improve  it  for."  Accordingly  this  piece  of  land 
was  sold  to  John  Borden,  of  Portsmouth,  R.  I.,  (the  highest  bidder,) 
for  nine  pounds  and  eight  shillings,  and  was  the  territory  on  which 
that  part  of  this  village  South  of  Bedford  street  and  North  of  the 
stream  now  stands.  This  John  Borden  is  believed  to  be  the  ancestor 
of  all  who  sustain  his  name  in  this  vicinity. 

Tiverton  (excepting  a  small  part  at  the  South  end  of  the  town, 
called  Puncatest,)  was  purchased  by  a  company  of  eight  individuals, 
namely  :  Edward  Gray,  of  Plymouth  ;  Nathaniel  Thomas,  of  Marsh- 

*At  the  time  Freetown  was  incorporated,  there  was  but  one  county  in  the  Colony 
of  Plymouth.  In  1685  the  Colony  was  divided  into  three  counties,  which  were 
called  Plymouth,  Bristol  and  Barnstable.  Bristol  County  then  comprised  (in  addi- 
tion to  the  present  territory,)  Cumberland,  Barrington,  Warren,  Bristol,  Tiverton 
and  Little  Compton,  R.  I.  Bristol  was  incorporated  in  1680,  and  in  five  years  be- 
came the  most  thriving  town  in  Plymouth  Colony.  When  the  Colony  was  divided 
into  three  counties,  Bristol  was  made  the  County  seat,  and  the  County  was  named 
Bristol  County,  in  honor  of  the  town.  Bristol  continued  to  be  the  County  town  till 
1746,  when  it  was  set  off,  with  Warren  and  Barrington,  to  Rhode  Island,  and  those 
towns  were  made  a  County  in  that  State,  named  Bristol  County.  The  name  Bristol 
was  continued  to  what  remained  in  Massachusetts,  also,  and  of  this  portion,  Taun- 
ton thenceforward  became  the  County  seat.  In  1692,  the  three  counties  comprising 
Plymouth  Colony  were  united  with  Massachusetts,  and  the  Plymouth  Colony  gov- 
ernment then  terminated.  In  1840,  the  population  of  that  part  of  Massachusetts 
originally  comprised  in  Plymouth  Colony,  was  153,121. 


HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER.  21 

field ;  Benjamin  Church,  of  Puncatest ;  Christopher  Almy,  Job 
Almy,  and  Thomas  Waitc,  of  Portsmouth,  R.  I. ;  Daniel  Wilcox, 
and  William  Manchester,  of  Puncatest.  The  sum  paid  for  it  was 
eleven  hundred  pounds,  or  about  $3,GGG.  The  purchase  was  called 
the  Pocassct  purchase.  It  was  bounded  northerly  by  the  Freemen's 
purchase  ;  westward,  by  the  Bay ;  southward,  partly  by  the  Sea- 
connet  bounds,  and  partly  by  Dartmouth,  which  then  included  West- 
port,  and  extended  east  from  the  Bay  from  four  to  Six  miles.  It  was 
deeded  to  the  Pocasset  purchasers  by  Josiah  Winslow,  Governor ; 
Major  William  Bradford,  Treasurer  ;  Thomas  Hinckley  and  James 
Cudworth,  Assistants,  March  5,  1G80,  and  acknowledged  March  G, 
1G80;  recorded  Dec.  19,  1723, — Bristol  County, — Samuel  Howland, 
Register.     [See  a  copy  of  the  deed,  Note  D,  Appendix.] 

This  territory  was  purchased  by  the  above  grantors,  of  the  Indian 
Sachems.  The  North  end  of  the  town  was  settled  by  Colonel 
Church,  and  the  ancestors  of  the  numerous  families  now  in  this  re- 
gion by  the  name  of  Borden  and  Durfee.  The  town  was  at  first 
called  Pocasset ;  and  when  it  was  incorporated,  in  1694,  it  was 
called  Tiverton.  The  origin  of  this  name,  in  its  application  to  this 
town,  is  not  known.  It  is  supposed  that  some  of  the  early  settlers 
came  from  a  borough  in  Devonshire,  England,  called  Tiverton,  or 
Twyford-Town,  lying  between  the  rivers  Exe  and  Loman  ;  and  that 
they  called  Pocasset  after  their  native  town,  Tiverton. 

For  several  years  after  Freetown  and  Tiverton  were  incorporated, 
there  was  a  dispute  respecting  the  boundary  line  between  the  two 
towns,  which  was  amicably  adjusted  in  1700,  by  a  committee  con- 
sisting of  Josiah  Winslow,  Robert  Durfee  and  Henry  Brightman,  of 
Freetown  ;  and  Richard  Borden,  Christopher  Almy  and  Samuel 
Little,  of  Tiverton.  From  their  report  it  appears  that  the  division 
line,  then  settled,  ran  by  a  cleft-rock,  over  which  the  store  of  Read 
&  Bowen  now  stands,  southwesterly  to  the  Fall  River,  thence  the 
River  to  be  the  bound  to  its  mouth  ;  and  from  the  aforesaid  cleft- 
rock,  easterly  about  where  Bedford  street  now  runs.  This  continued 
to  be  the  division  line  so  long  as  Tiverton  belonged  to  Massachusetts. 
[See  Note  E,  Appendix. ) 

The  Pocasset  purchase  (after  reserving  thirty  rods  wide  adjacent  to 
the  Freemen's  purchase  and  Fall  River,  and  some  other  small  tracts, 
including  a  tract  near  Rowland's  Bridge  for  house  lots,)  was  divided 
into  thirty  shares,  and  distributed  among  the  proprietors, — the  lot 


22  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

nearest  Fall  River  being  numbered  one.  The  piece  of  land  thirty 
rods  wide,  adjacent  to  Fall  River,  including  the  water  power  on  the 
South  side  of  the  River  to  Main  street,  and  on  both  sides  East  of 
said  street,  extended  to  the  Watuppa  Pond,  and  contained  sixty-six 
acres.  This  piece  also  was  divided  into  thirty  shares,  and  sold  by 
the  original  proprietors.  Col.  Church,  and  his  brother  Caleb,  of 
Watertown,  (who  was  a  millwright,)  bought  twenty-six  and  a  half 
of  the  thirty  shares  of  this  sixty-six  acres,  and  thereby  became  the 
chief  owners  of  the  water  power.  On  the  8th  of  August,  1691, 
Caleb  Church  sold  his  right  in  this  property  (13  1-2  shares)  to  his 
brother  Benjamin,  who  thus  became  the  owner  of  twenty-six  and  a 
half  shares.  Probably  John  Borden,  of  Rhode  Island,  purchased 
the  other  three  and  a  half  shares.  In  1703,  Col.  Church  had  moved 
to  Fall  River,  and  improved  the  water  power  by  erecting  a  saw-mill, 
grist-mill  and  fulling-mill.  His  dwelling  house*  stood  between  the 
present  dwelling  house  of  Col.  Richard  Borden  and  that  of  his 
brother  Jefferson,  and  remained  till  within  forty  years.  He  contin- 
ued at  Fall  River  but  a  few  years  ;  and  Sept.  18,  1714,  then  living 
at  Little  Compton,  sold  the  above  named  twenty-six  and  a  half  shares 
(his  son  Constant  signing  the  deed  with  him)  to  Richard  Borden,  of 
Tiverton,  and  Joseph  Borden,  of  Freetown,  sons  of  John  ;  and  thus 
the  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  with  all  the  water  power,  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  Borden  family  as  early  as  1714 ;  for,  as 
I  have  before  said,  John  Borden  had  previously  purchased  the  water 
power  on  the  North  side  of  the  river,  West  of  Main  street,  f 

As  early  as  1740,  a  dispute  had  arisen  between  the  Colonies  of 
Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  respecting  the  Eastern  boundary 
of  Rhode  Island.  This  dispute  was  made  known  to  the  King  of 
England,  who  appointed  commissioners  to  visit  the  spot  and  deter- 
mine where  the  boundary  line  should  run.  These  commissioners  met, 
and  after  due  examination,  decided!  that  the  line  should  be  run  so  as 

*There  is  a  tradition  that  Col.  Church  first  lived  in  a  wigwam,  nearly  opposite 
the  dwelling  house  of  Capt.  Joseph  S.  Barnard,  a  little  West  of  which  is  a  spring, 
formerly  called  Church's  Spring. 

t Caleb  Church  sold  his  13  1-2  shares  to  his  brother,  for  £100.  At  this  rate,  the 
whole  sixty-six  acres  was  valued,  in  1691,  at  about  $740.  The  piece  on  the  North 
side  of  the  stream  cost  John  Borden  about  .$31,34 ;  total,  $771,34.  This  included 
the  whole  of  the  water  power  and  most  of  the  land  where  the  village  now  stands, 
together  with  a  strip  East  to  the  Watuppa  Pond.  Twenty-six  and  a  half  out  of 
thirty  shares  of  the  above  sixty-six  acres,  were  sold  by  Col.  Church  and  son,  in 
1714,  for  £1,000,  or  about  $3,333. 

$1  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  on  what  ground  the  commissioners  made  this 
decision,  nor  why  the  King  confirmed  it.  All  the  facts  in  the  case  which  have  come 
to  my  knowledge,  go  to  show  that  the  decision  was  unfounded,  and  that  Massachu- 
setts had  good  reasons  to  be  dissatisfied  with  it. 


HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER.  23 

to  inciudc  the  present  towns  of  Tiverton,  Little  Compton,  Bristol, 
Warren,  Barrington  and  Cumberland,  in  Rhode  Island.  These  towns 
had  till  then  been  in  Massachusetts.  From  this  decision  Massachu- 
setts appealed  to  the  King  in  council,  who  confirmed  the  decision  of 
the  commissioners  ;  and  in  May,  1746,  the  King  (George  the  II.)  in 
council,  ordered  that  Rhode  Island  and  Massachusetts  should  appoint 
commissioners  to  run  the  lines,  setting  off  the  above  towns  to  Rhode 
Island.  Massachusetts  was  so  dissatisfied  with  the  decision,  that  she 
sent  no  commissioners  on  her  part ;  but  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  met  and  run  the  lines  of 
these  towns.  In  running  the  North  line  of  Tiverton,  they  com- 
menced "at  the  mouth  of  Fall  River,  and  from  thence  measured  440 
rods  southerly  on  the  shore,  as  the  said  shore  extendeth  itself  from 
the  mouth  of  said  Fall  River,  and  from  the  point  where  the  said  440 
rods  reached,  being  East  35  degrees  South  of  the  Southernmost  point 
of  Shawomet  Neck,  they  ran  a  line  three  miles  East  to  the  Watuppa 
Pond,  and  across  said  pond."j  This  line  became  from  that  time  the 
dividing  line  between  Tiverton  and  Freetown,  and  in  consequence  of 
it  the  heart  of  this  village,  including  all  the  water  power,  which  was 
previously  in  Tiverton,  has  since  1747  been  in  Freetown  or  Fall 
River,  and  consequently  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts. 
Tiverton  being  thus  annexed  to  Rhode  Island,  was  incorporated  anew 
by  the  Legislature  of  that  State  in  January,  1746  old  style,  or  1747 
new  style,  and  set  off  to  Newport  County  ;  and  the  first  town  meet- 
ing in  Tiverton,  after  it  was  thus  set  off,  was  held  at  Isaac  How- 
land's  near  the  bridge,  Feb.  10,  1747,  new  style.  [See  Note  F, 
Appendix.] 

Previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and 
during  that  conflict,  the  people  of  the  towns  of  Freetown  and  Tiv- 
erton, in  common  with  the  rest  of  New  England,  took  an  active  and 
patriotic  part ;  though  there  were  individuals  here  who  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  mother  country. 

Thomas  Gilbert,  Esq.,  who  resided  at  Assonet,  previous  to  the 
Revolution,  embarked  in  the  cause  of  Great  Britain,  and  during  that 
conflict  held  the  King's  commission  of  Lieutenant  Colonel.  He  was 
a  leading  man  in  the  town  of  Freetown,  and  was  repeatedly  chosen 
her  representative  to  the  General  Court.     He  was  an  artful  and  in- 

JVide  the  Public  Laws  of  Rhode  Island;  Edition  1798,  p.  113. 


24  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 

sinuating  man,  and  managed  to  keep  a  considerable  number  of  fam- 
ilies under  his  influence,  in  opposing  the  struggle  for  independence. 
At  length,  however,  the  success  of  the  patriot  cause  compelled  him 
to  flee  to  Nova  Scotia  for  safety.  He  owned  an  estate  at  Assonet, 
which  was  confiscated.  The  loss  of  his  property  here,  however,  was 
more  than  made  up  to  him  in  Nova  Scotia,  where  he  permanently 
resided  after  the  Revolution. 

But  notwithstanding  the  intrigue  and  opposition  of  Col.  Gilbert, 
there  were  some  true  and  devoted  friends  of  the  American  cause  in 
this  town.  In  the  year  1776,  a  town  meeting  was  called  to  see  if 
the  town  would  instruct  their  representative  in  regard  to  these  Colo- 
nies being  declared  independent.  This  meeting  was  held  July  15th, 
of  that  year,  and  after  reciting  the  grievances  under  which  the  com- 
munity labored,  thus  resolved  : — "We,  the  inhabitants  of  Freetown, 
in  public  town  meeting  assembled,  for  giving  instructions  to  our  rep- 
resentative, do  in  public  town  meeting  vote  and  declare,  and  direct 
our  representative  to  declare  in  the  General  Court,  that  we  are 
ready,  with  our  lives  and  fortunes,  to  support  the  General  Congress 
in  declaring  the  United  American  Colonies  free  and  independent  of 
Great  Britain."*  Thomas  Durfee,  Esq.,  was  their  representative 
that  year,  and  faithfully  obeyed  the  above  instructions. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  war  which  followed  the  declaration 
of  Independence,  Freetown  (especially  that  part  now  comprised  in 
Fall  River,)  and  Tiverton  were  constantly  harrassed  and  distressed 
by  the  enemy,  several  of  whose  ships  were  frequently  lying  in  the 
waters  of  the  Narragansett  Bay.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1778,  early 
Sabbath  Morning,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  British  troops,  under 
the  command  of  Major  Ayres,  landed  at  Fall  River,  and  commenced 
an  attack  upon  the  few  people  then  residing  here.  The  men  rallied 
under  the  command  of  Col.  (then  Major)  Joseph  Durfee,  and  after  a 
brave  and  spirited  resistance,  which  took  place  near  where  Main 
street  crosses  the  stream,  repulsed  the  invaders,  and  compelled  them 
to  retreat.  They  left  one  man  dead,  (who  was  killed  directly  oppo- 
site where  the  Pocasset  House  now  stands,  and  about  four  rods  from 
the  front  door,)  and  another  mortally  wounded,  and  lying  five  or  six 
rods  further  West,  who  soon  died.  When  the  enemy  first  landed, 
they  set  fire  to  the  house  of  Thomas  Borden,  then  nearly  new,  and 


*See  Freetown  Records,  Book  2,  p.  126. 


HISTORY    OK    FALL    RIVER.  25 

standing  at  the  head  of  the  present  Iron  Works  Co. 'a  Wharf,  and 
also  to  his  grist-mill  and  saw-mill,  standing  near  the  mouth  of  Fall 
River,  which  were  consumed.  When  they  were  retreating,  they  set 
fire  to  several  other  buildings,  which  were  saved  by  the  vigilance  of 
the  little  Spartan  band  who  had  given  them  so  warm  a  reception, 
and  who  closely  pursued  them  in  their  retreat,  killing  one  of  the  re- 
treating party  after  they  had  entered  their  boats.  The  two  British 
soldiers  killed  in  the  engagement,  were  buried  at  1 2  o'clock  the  same 
day,  in  the  same  grave,  near  where  the  South  end  of  the  Massasoit 
Factory  now  stands.  The  head  of  the  one  was  laid  by  the  side  of 
the  feet  of  the  other. 

Much  praise  was  due  to  the  defenders  of  Fall  River  for  their  firm- 
ness and  bravery  in  resisting  and  repelling  five  times  their  number. 
But  few,  if  any  battles  were  fought,  during  the  Revolution  in  which 
so  large  a  force  was  repulsed  by  so  small  a  number.  Through  the 
interposing  mercy  of  Divine  Providence,  not  an  individual  of  our  de- 
fenders was  either  killed  or  wounded.  The  officer  who  commanded 
in  defence  of  the  place,  still  survies,  and  for  ten  years  past  has  re- 
ceived a  pension  of  five  hundred  and  forty-two  dollars  a  year.  He 
is  supposed  to  be  the  only  surviving  Colonel  of  the  Revolutionary 
army. 

As  the  enemy  were  retreating,  they  set  fire  to  the  dwelling  house 
of  Richard  Borden,  then  an  aged  man,  and  took  him  prisoner.  The 
fire  was  extinguished  by  the  vigilance  of  the  pursuers,  who  greatly 
annoyed  the  British  in  their  retreat.  As  they  were  passing  Bristol 
Ferry,  the  Americans  fired  upon  them  from  the  shore,  and  their  aged 
prisoner,  to  avoid  danger,  threw  himself  flat  upon  the  bottom  of  the 
boat.  Those  who  had  him  in  charge,  insisted  that  he  should  stand 
up  and  be  equally  exposed  with  themselves.  This  he  resolutely  re- 
fused, and  two  men  seizing  him,  attempted  to  raise  him  up,  and 
while  thus  engaged,  a  shot  from  the  Americans  on  shore,  put  an  end 
to  both  their  lives.     Mr.  Borden  was  soon  after  released  on  parole. 

Great  credit  was  given,  also,  to  another  individual,*  who  held  a 
Captain's  commission,  and  who  still  survives  and  is  able  to  meet  with 
us  this  day  ;  and  to  many  others  residing  in  these  two  towns,  for 
their  unflinching  fortitude  and  untiring  perseverance  in  the  defence 
of  this  region,  as  well  as  for  the  other  services  they  rendered  the 
country  while  working  out  her  national  independence. 

*Deacon  Richard  Durfee. 
E 


26  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

Among  the  patriots  of  that  period,  the  name  of  a  native  of  the 
Pocasset  tribe  must  be  enrolled.  While  the  British  army  had  pos- 
session of  the  island  of  Rhode  Island,  in  1777,  General  Prescott, 
the  chief  in  command  of  that  army,  quartered  at  a  private  house 
some  distance  from  the  main  body  of  his  troops,  and  was  attended 
only  by  his  aid-de-camp  and  a  small  guard.  Col.  Barton,  an  Amer- 
ican officer,  a  native  of  Warren,  having  learned  the  condition  of 
Prescott,  resolved  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to  surprise  and  capture 
him.  Accordingly  he  embarked  on  the  night  of  the  10th  of  July, 
with  about  forty  spirited  volunteers,  on  board  four  whale  boats,  at 
Warwick  neck,  and  crossing  the  Narragansett,  landed  on  the  West 
side  of  the  island.  Securing  their  boats,  they  silently  approached 
the  house  where  Prescott  was  quartered,  seized  and  silenced  the  sen- 
tinel at  the  door,  and  entering  the  house,  took  the  General  from  his 
bed,  and  returned  with  him  in  safety  to  the  American  forces.  Among 
those  volunteers  was  a  young,  bold,  nimble-footed  Indian.  That  In- 
dian was  one  of  the  first  to  seize  the  sentinel  at  the  door,  and  was 
one  of  two  that  led  Prescott  by  the  arm,  a  captive,  from  the  Over- 
ing  house,  at  which  he  was  taken. 

After  leaving  the  house,  it  is  said,  the  Indian,  recollecting  that 
Prescott's  sword  was  left  behind,  returned  to  the  chamber,  found  the 
sword,  and  overtook  the  company  before  they  reached  their  boats. 
That  Indian  was  Daniel  Page,  the  last  male  of  the  Pocasset  tribe, 
the  former  owners  and  lords  of  the  soil  where  we  now  have  our  homes. 
Page  was  well  known  and  much  respected  by  some  of  my  hearers. 
Previous  to  his  death,  a  member  of  this  church  and  others  made  an 
effort  to  secure  a  pension  for  him,  which  he  most  richly  deserved ; 
but  they  failed  for  want  of  living  witnesses  to  furnish  the  neces- 
sary proof.  Page  was  a  native  of  this  town.  He  lived  and  died 
here.  His  death  occurred  in  1829,  aged  fourscore  years  ;  and  in  his 
decease  there  is  an  end  of  his  tribe.  Only  three  or  four  aged  females 
survived  him. 

The  town  of  Fall  River  was  set  off  from  Freetown  and  incorpor- 
ated, February,  1803,  by  the  name  of  Fall  River,  The  first  town- 
meeting  was  called  by  Charles  Durfee,  Esq.,  and  held  April  4th,  of 
that  year,  at  the  house  of  widow  Louisa  Borden.  In  1804,  the  name 
of  the  town  was  changed  to  Troy,  which  name  it  retained  for  thirty 
years;  when  in  1834,  it  was  changed  again  to  Fall  River.  The 
first  town  house  was  at  Steep  Brook.     In  1 825  the  town  voted  to 


HISTORY   OF    PALL    RIVER.  27 

erect  a  town  house  on  the  town  land,  near  the  dwelling  house  oi 
Joseph  E.  Reed,  Esq.  This  vote  was  carried  into  effect  that  same 
year.  In  183G,  the  town  voted  to  remove  the  town  house  to  the 
village,  which  was  done,  and  it  now  stands  on  West  Central  street. 

Fall  River  is  bounded  North  and  East  by  Freetown  ;  South  by 
Dartmouth,  Westport  and  Tiverton  ;  and  West  by  Mount  Hope  Bay 
and  Taunton  River ;  said  River  separates  it  from  Somerset.  Fall 
River  comprises  an  area  of  about  twenty-seven  and  four  hundred  and 
fifty-four  thousandths  of  square  miles  ;  and  of  about  seventeen  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  seventy-one  acres,  including  both  land  and 
water.  *  The  western  half  of  the  town  is  rather  hilly,  and  the  land 
is  good  for  farming  purposes.  The  eastern  half  is  of  a  poorer  qual- 
ity, and  is  chiefly  woodland. 

In  the  year  1823,  the  town  purchased  4  3-4  acres  of  land  nearly 
opposite  the  dwelling  house  of  Joseph  E.  Read,  Esq.,  and  in  1839 
they  made  an  additional  purchase  of  3  1-4  acres,  for  a  town  burying 
ground,  which  is  laid  off  into  lots  of  suitable  size  for  families,  and 
these  lots  are  sold  at  a  moderate  price,  to  all  who  choose  to  purchase. 
This  is  now  the  principal  burial  ground  for  the  village  and  vicinity ; 
though  there  are  within  the  town  at  least  twenty-one  other  burial 
places.  The  purchase  made  by  the  town  v^as  ready  for  use  in  the 
spring  of  1824.  Samuel  Dexter  Wheeler  Crary,  youngest  son  of 
Stephen  K.  Crary,  born  Sept.  3,  1818,  fell,  as  he  was  returning  from 
the  Sabbath  School,  from  a  plank  that  lay  across  the  Fall  River 
stream,  and  was  carried  down  the  rocky  falls,  near  where  the  Satinet 
Factory  now  is,  which  caused  his  instantaneous  death.  This  oc- 
curred Sabbath,  May  3,  1824.  He  was  the  first  person  buried  in 
the  town  burying  ground,  where  a  great  congregation  have  since 
been  laid  by  his  side. 

*  According  to  a  survey  of  the  boundaries  of  the  town  of  Fall  River  in  1831,  the 
courses  and  distances  beginning  on  Tiverton  line  at  the  Bay,  were  as  follows  : 
South  82  3-4  degrees  East   1,140  rods  by  Tiverton  line. 
South  10  3-4        "        West    132  "  "  " 

South  68  3-4        "      East      646          "      Westport" 
North  65  "       East   1,024  "      Dartmouth  line. 

North  12  "       East      750  "      Freetown        " 

North  69  «       West  1,760 

The  distance  on  Taunton  River  and  Bay  in  a  straight  line,  is  1724  rods.  When 
this  survey  was  taken,  the  needle  varied  northwesterly  about  seven  degrees. 


28 


HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER. 


The  following  table  records  the  number  of  burials,  and  the  num- 
ber of  graves  dug  in  the  town  burial  ground  by  one  man,  (Mr.  Jona- 
than Brightman,)  for  each  month  during  the  last  five  years  : 


MONTHS. 

January,  •  • 

February,  .  . 

March,     .  .  . 

April,       .  .  . 

May,        .  .  . 

June,       .  .  . 

July,        .  .  . 

August,    .  .  . 

September,  .  . 

October,  .  . 

November,  .  . 

December,  .  . 


1836     1837     1838     1839     1840    total 


o 

7 

4 

19 

16 

18 

8 


11 
5 


100 


75    I    94 


6 

6 

13 

4 

6 

4 

4 

1 

16 

7 

10 

11 

10 

7 

15 

11 

3 

5 

4 

3 

5 
2 

4 
7 

13 

11 

7 

16 
15 
13 
13 


75 


114 


25 
19 
28 
42 
32 
29 
42 
66 
54 
62 
35 
24 

458 


Of  the  foregoing,  in  1836,  37  were  grown  persons,  and  63  were 
children;  in  1837,  29  grown  persons,  46  children;  in  1838,  26 
grown  persons,  68  children  ;  in  1839,  28  grown  persons,  47  chil- 
dren;  and  in  1840,  35  grown*  persons,  and  79  children.  Total 
grown  persons,  155.     Total  children,  303. 

In  sixteen  years,  Mr.  Brightman  has  dug  about  nine  hundred 
graves,  and  aided  in  burying  that  number  of  persons  in  the  town 
burying  ground  ;  and  there  have  been  interred  in  that  ground  about 
one  hundred  persons  whose  graves  were  not  prepared  by  him  ;  mak- 
ing about  one  thousand  bodies  laid  already  in  that  consecrated  spot. 
Verily,  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection  it  will  be  a  spot  in  this 
town  of  no  ordinary  interest.  Then  the  trump  of  God  shall  sound, 
and  wake  the  dead  ;  and  all  who  lie  in  that  field  of  graves  shall 
come  forth,  "  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ; 
and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation." 

During  these  sixteen  years,  about  one-fourth  of  the  burials  of  this 
population  have  been  in  the  other  twenty-one  burying  grounds  in  the 
vicinity  ;  which,  added  to  those  entombed  in  the  town  ground,  makes 
over  1,300  in  sixteen  years.  If  we  take  the  last  five  years  as  a  basis 
of  calculation,  eight  hundred  and  sixty,  of  the  whole  number  of 
deaths,  were  children  under  ten  years ;  four  hundred  and  forty  were 


*Those  above  ten  years  of  age  are  reckoned  as  grown  ;   those  below  ten  years  as 
children. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER.  '2\) 

over  ten  years.  Thirteen  hundred  deaths  in  sixteen  years  is  an  av- 
erage of  eighty-one  a  year.  J  hit  the  population  has  trebled  in  this 
period ;  and  during  the  last  five  years  the  deaths  have  averaged 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  a  year. 

In  view  of  the  facts  now  presented,  you  will  ask,  is  this  a  sickly 
and  dying  place  ?  I  answer,  it  is  a  dying  place ;  and  soon,  very 
soon,  you  and  I  will  have  yielded  up  the  ghost,  and  gone  to  stand 
before  the  bar  of  God.  Are  we  prepared,  through  faith  in  the  aton- 
ing blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  go  this  night  and  give  up  our  last  ac- 
count ?  But  if  you  ask,  is  this  a  more  sickly,  a  more  dying  place 
than  other  towns  and  villages  in  New  England  ?  I  answer,  no — by 
no  means.  A  comparison  of  the  bills  of  mortality  here  and  else- 
where, shows  that  Fall  River  is  not  surpassed  by  any  town  in  New 
England  for  the  salubrity  of  its  atmosphere,  and  the  healthiness  of 
its  location. 

I  will  speak  now  of  the  more  recent  history,  and  of  the  present 
condition  of  Fall  River  ;  particularly  of  this  village.  This  village 
stands  at  the  head  of  Mount  Hope  Bay,  on  both  sides  of  the  river  of 
Fall  River  ;  and  is  in  the  South-west  corner  of  the  town  of  Fall 
River,  Mass.,  and  in  the  North-west  corner  of  the  town  of  Tiverton, 
R.  I. ;  about  seven-eighths  of  the  population,  and  the  whole  of  the 
water-power  being  in  Mass.  The  River  of  Fall  River  is  less  than  one 
rod  in  width,  and  about  two  miles  in  length.  The  Indian  name  of 
this  river  was  "  Quequechan,"*  which  signifies  falling  water,  or  quick  \y^ 
running  water  ;  hence  it  is  appropriately  called  Fall  River.  This 
river  issues  from  a  natural  pond,  called  the  Watuppa  Pond.  Watup 
means  a  boat,  or  the  place  of  a  boat.  Watuppa  is  the  plural  form 
of  the  word,  aud  signifies  boats,  or  the  place  of  boats.  Fall  River 
empties  into  Mount  Hope  Bay,  nearly  opposite  the  mount  ;  and  ad- 
jacent to  its  mouth  is  the  harbor  of  Fall  River.  This  harbor  is  easy 
of  access,  safe,  and  deep  enough  for  ships  drawing  eighteen  or  twenty 
feet  of  water,  to  come  to  the  wharf.  The  Watuppa  Pond  is  ten 
miles  long  and  about  one  broad.  Nearly  equidistant  from  each  end 
of  this  pond,  there  is  a  narrow  strait,  only  a  few  rods  wide  ;  across 
which  lies  the  road  to  New  Bedford.  Within  the  memory  of  some 
now  living,  this  strait  (called  the  Narrows,)  was  passed  on  a  foot 
bridge  of  stepping  stones.     This  strait  divides  the  pond  into  North 

*One  of  our  Cotton  Factory  Companies  is  called  the  Quequechan  Company  after 
the  Indian  name  of  Fall  River. 


r 


30  HISTORY    Or    FALL    IIIVKIL 

Watuppa  and  South  Watuppa.  North  Watuppa  is  supplied  by  sev- 
eral small  streams,  and  by  living  springs.  South  Watuppa  is  sup- 
plied in  like  manner,  and  also  by  three  other  smaller  ponds,  of  from 
one  to  two  miles  in  length,  one  of  which,  called  Davol  pond,  is  in 
Westport,  and  empties  into  a  second  in  Tiverton,  called  Sawdy  pond, 
and  this  empties  into  South  Watuppa.  The  other,  which  is  in  Tiv- 
erton also,  and  is  called  Stafford  pond,  empties  by  Sucker  Brook 
into  South  Watuppa.  These  three  ponds  are  adjacent  to  each  other, 
and  to  the  Watuppa.  South  Watuppa  and  a  part  of  North  Wa- 
tuppa are  in  Tiverton  ;  the  remainder  of  North  Watuppa  is  in  the 
town  of  Fall  River. 

The  river  of  Fall  River,  we  have  said,  is  about  two  miles  long  ; 
four-fifths  of  this  distance  it  is  on  a  level  with  the  South  Watuppa, 
from  which  it  issues  ;  and  since  the  raising  of  the  water  in  the  Wa- 
tuppa, within  a  few  years,  by  means  of  the  upper  dam,  the  whole  of 
this  distance  the  river  is  much  wider  than  the  natural  stream  ;  it  is 
now  from  ten  to  eighty  rods  in  width.  When  within  one  hundred 
and  fifty  rods  of  tide  water,  the  river  commences  its  fall,  and  de- 
scends upon  an  inclined  plane,  132  feet.  On  this  inclined  plane, 
stand  the  factories  and  other  buildings  containing  the  machinery  pro- 
pelled by  the  water  power,  which  is  durable,  abundant,  and  easily 
applied.  This  location,  being  adjacent  to  an  excellent  harbor,  fur- 
nishes the  most  remarkable  and  most  valuable  combination  of  facili- 
ties for  manufacturing  and  mercantile  purposes  in  New  England.  It 
has  already  been  remarked,  that  the  water  was  improved,  for  grist 
and  saw  mill  purposes,  as  early  as  the  year  1700.  For  more  than  a 
century  it  continued  to  be  thus  improved ;  and  in  the  progress  of 
things  during  that  period,  a  few  families  were  collected  here,  and 
found  their  home  where  we  now  reside.  In  the  year  1803,  when 
the  town  of  Fall  River  was  incorporated,  there  were,  however, 
only  eighteen  dwelling  houses  and  about  one  hundred  inhabitants, 
where  the  village  now  is.  In  North  Main  street  there  were  six 
houses,  occupied  by  Charles  Durfec,  Daniel  Buffmton,  John  Lu- 
thur,  Abner  Davol,  John  Cook,  and  Mary  Borden.  In  East  Cen- 
tral street  there  were  four,  occupied  by  Nathan  Bo  wen,  Perry  Bor- 
den, Seth  Borden  and  Elihu  Cook.  In  West  Central  street  there 
were  two,  occupied  by  Nathan  Borden  and  Daniel  Borden.  In  South 
Main  street,  there  were  five,  occupied  by  Simeon  Borden,  Richard 
Borden,  Thomas  Borden,  Benjamin  Brayton,  and  Francis  Brayton. 


HISTORY    OF    PALL    RIVER.  31 

Near  the  shore  there  was  one,  occupied  by  Thomas  Borden.  Of 
these  eighteen  families,  nine  were  Borden's. 

The  first  cotton  factory  was  built  in  1813.  The  Troy  Company 
and  the  Fall  River  Company  were  formed  that  year.  In  1813  there 
were  thirty  dwelling  houses  here,  and  about  two  hundred  inhabitants. 
From  that  time  there  was  a  gradual  increase  of  the  village.  Still 
the  growth,  for  several  years,  was  not  great.  In  1820,  ten  respect- 
able citizens,  six  of  whom  still  reside  here,  had  occasion  to  prepare 
a  statement  of  facts  touching  the  condition  of  this  place,  to  be  used 
abroad;  in  which  they  announce  that  "the  village  contains  fifty 
dwelling  houses,  two  large  cotton  factories,  several  stores,  one  large 
school  house,  several  grain  and  saw  mills,  several  shops  for  various 
kinds  of  Mechanics,  and  about  five  hundred  inhabitants."  It  ap- 
pears, also,  from  the  census  of  this  town,  taken  by  order  of  govern- 
ment, that  the  increase  from  1810  to  1820  was  only  298  souls. 
From  the  year  1820  maybe  dated  the  more  rapid  and  steady  growth 
of  the  village.  In  ten  years  from  that  period,  2,565  were  added  to 
the  population  ;  and  during  the  last  ten  years,  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation has  been  2,579 — being  fourteen  more  than  the  increase  of  the 
previous  ten  years.  The  population  of  the  town  of  Fall  River  in 
1840,  was  6,738,  of  which  about  6,200  are  in  the  village  and  its 
immediate  vicinity.  In  1830,  the  population  of  the  town  was  4,159  ; 
in  1820,  1,594  ;  in  1810,   1,296, 

In  the  last  twenty  years  the  population  of  Tiverton  has  increased 
from  seven  to  eight  hundred,  nearly  the  whole  of  which  increase  has 
been  in  this  village  and  vicinity.  The  population  of  Tiverton  in 
1840  was:  white  males,  1,581;  white  females,  1,542;  colored 
males,  20;  colored  females,  40;  total,  3,183.  The  present  popula- 
tion of  the  village,  in  both  States,  reckoning  all  who  reside  within 
about  one  mile  of  the  Post  Office,  which  may  be  considered  the 
central  point,  is  about  7,000.  Within  these  limits  there  are  537 
dwelling  houses*  and  1,173  families.  The  population  of  the  town 
of  Fall  River  is,  white  males,  3,288  ;  white  females,  3,424  ;  colored 
males,  11;  colored  females,  15;  total,  6,738.  Over  ninety  years 
old,  none  ;  over  eighty,  16;  over  seventy,  78;  over  sixty,  206.  The 
fact  that  only  two  hundred  and  six  of  our  population  have  reached 
sixty  years,  shows  ours  to  be  a  young  population.     Nine  hundred 

#In  this  statement,  I  reckon  as  dwelling  houses  all  buildings  that  have  families 
in  them,  and  include  the  Bowenville  and  Tiverton  Print  Works  neighborhoods. 
Exclusive  of  these  neighborhoods,  there  are  480  dwelling  houses  and  1078  families. 


32  HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER. 

and  eighty-seven  are  under  five  years  ;  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty 
-seven  are  under  ten  years  ;  twenty-five  hundred  and  ninety-one  are 
under  fifteen  years ;  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty-two 
(about  half  of  the  whole,)  are  under  twenty  years  of  age. 

There  are  in  the  town,  five  blind  persons,  six  insane  persons,  eight 
idiots,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons  over  twenty  years  of 
age,  who  can  neither  read  nor  write,  eight  of  whom  are  at  the  alms 
house,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  others  are  Irish  Catholic  immi- 
grants. There  are  twelve  pensioners,  the  oldest  of  whom  is  eighty- 
five  years  old,  and  the  youngest  seventy-six.  The  number  of  stores 
and  shops  in  the  village,  of  all  kinds,  including  grocers,  victualers, 
butchers,  dry  goods  merchants,  tailors,  milliners  and  dress-makers, 
druggists,  jewelers,  harness  and  carriage  makers,  house  and  shop 
joiners,  lumber  dealers,  painters  and  glaziers,  auctioneers,  shoe  and 
boot  stores,  barbers,  blacksmiths,  brass  founders,  &c,  is  119. 

The  number  of  legal  voters  in  the  town  of  Fall  River  in  1840, 
was  1,113.  The  number  of  taxable  polls  was  1,603  ;  the  number 
of  persons  taxed,  including  non-residents,  was  1,760.  The  valua- 
tion of  real  estate  was  $1,678,603  ;  of  personal  estate,  $1,310,865  ; 
total,  $2,989,468.  The  committee  of  the  Legislature,  in  equalizing 
the  valuation  for  the  State,  have  put  the  valuation  of  Fall  River  at 
$2,552,121  ;  and  they  have  put  the  valuation  of  the  whole  State  at 
$290,878,329.  In  the  six  counties  South  of  Boston,  there  are  only 
three  towns  (Roxbury,  New  Bedford  and  Nantucket,)  whose  valua- 
tion of  real  and  personal  estate  is  larger  than  that  of  Fall  River, 
and  only  eleven  in  the  Commonwealth.* 

There  are  in  this  village  eight  cotton  manufactories,  in  which  are 
run  32,084  spindles,  and  1,042  looms.  About  1,370,000  lbs.  of 
cotton  are  used,  and  about  6,434,500  yards  of  cotton  cloths  are 
annually  manufactured,  and  893  persons  are  employed.  There  is 
one  Satinet  Factory,  which  employs  100  persons,  and  in  which  are 
eight  sets  of  cards,  and  other  machinery  sufficient  to  run  that  num- 
ber of  cards.  In  this  establishment  about  200,000  lbs.  of  wool  are 
used,  and  about  175,000  yards  of  cloth  are  made  yearly. 

^Statistics  in  part  of  Fall  River,  as  taken  by  the  Assistant  Marshal  in  1840  : — 
Neat  Cattle  in  the  town,  524;  Horses,  246;  Sheep,  580.  Value  of  Poultry,  $1,271 ; 
Wool  sheared  in  1839,  1,138  lbs.  Wood  sold  in  do.,  2,814  cords.  Produce  of  dairy, 
$2,571;  Produce  of  Orchards,  $240;  Hay  cut  in  1839,  883  tons;  Potatoes  raised  in 
do.,  14,235  bushels;  Corn  do.,  5,554  bushels;  Wheat  do.,  157  bushels;  Barley  do., 
1,609  bushels;  Oats  do.,  1,520  bushels;  Rye  do.,  740  bushels. 


HISTORY   OF   FALL   RIVER.  33 

There  are  three  Calico  Printing  establishments.  The  Fall  River 
Print  Works  Company  employs,  on  an  average,  350  persons  ;  prints 
about  4,000  pieces,  or  128,000  yards  weekly,  amounting  to  about 
0,656,000  yards  annually.  The  American  Print  Works  Company 
employs  300  hands,  and  prints  about  the  same  amount  yearly  ;  say 
6,656,000  yards.  The  Tiverton  Print  Works  Company  employs  80 
hands,  and  prints  about  1,800  pieces  weekly,  amounting  to  about 
2,994,200  yards  annually.  Total  of  Calico  Prints,  about  16,306,200 
yards  annually. 

There  are  two  Rolling  and  Slitting  Mills,  and  a  Nail  Factory,  in 
which  are  42  machines  for  cutting  nails,  of  all  sizes  ;  and  a  Foundry 
for  iron  castings ;  owned  and  run  by  the  Fall  River  Iron  Works 
Company.  This  company  employs  250  hands  ;  works  annually 
about  2,200  tons  of  Swedes  and  Russia  Iron  ;  1,400  tons  of  Scrap 
Iron,  and  420  tons  of  Pig  and  Cast  Iron  ;  total,  4,020  tons.  They 
use  annually  about  3,000  chaldrons,  or  108,000  bushels  of  different 
kinds  of  coal.  In  1840,  they  manufactured  38,441  casks  of  nails  of 
100  lbs.  each;  or,  3,844,100  lbs.;  950  tons  of  hoops,  and  round 
and  square  iron  ;  250  tons  of  shapes  and  rods  from  bar  iron  ;  and 
400  tons  of  castings. 

There  are  employed  by  the  firm  of  Hawes,  Marvel  &  Davol,  50 
workmen  in  building  cotton  and  and  wollen  machinery,  engaged 
chiefly  at  present  in  building  carding  machines,  double  speeders,  and 
vSharp  &  Robert's  patent  self-acting  mules.  This  firm  are  able  to 
turn  out  one  mule  and  some  other  machinery  weekly  ;  and  are  pre- 
pared to  build  any  kind  of  machinery  called  for.  There  are  about 
40  hands  employed  in  other  shops  in  building  and  repairing  machin- 
ery ;  making  a  total  of  90  workmen  upon  machinery. 

There  is  an  oil  manufactory,  which  works  32,000  gallons  of  oil 
yearly,  and  employs  five  persons. 

This  neighborhood  furnishes  an  abundance  of  beautiful  granite, 
equal  to  the  Quincy  granite  ;  which  is  used  in  building  here,  and  is 
carried  to  Newport,  New  Bedford,  New  York,  Providence,  Bristol 
and  Warren.  The  business  of  stone  quarrying  and  cutting,  employs 
30  hands;  furnishing  stone,  rough  and  hewn,  worth  from  $10,000 
to  $12,000  annually,  and  yielding  a  handsome  profit.* 

*There  is  a  quarry  by  the  side  of  the  old  road  to  New  Bedford,  a  mile  and  a  half 
east  of  this  village  ;  adjacent  to  which  and  on  a  platform  of  granite,  lies  a  large 
bowlder  ;  a  rock  of  the  graywacke  or  pudding-stone  formation.    This  rock  is  so 
F 


34  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

The  total  number  of  hands  employed  in  the  above  establishments, 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  is  2,093. 

There  are  three  lumber  yards,  in  which  lumber  to  the  amount  of 
two  million  feet  is  bought  and  sold  yearly.  The  lumber  is  brought 
chiefly  from  Maine,  and  sold  in  this  place  and  vicinity.  With  the 
Bowenville  lumber  yard,  a  planing  machine  is  connected,  operated  by 
steam,  which  planes  1,000  feet  of  boards  an  hour. 

About  1,500  tons  of  anthracite  coal  are  used  annually  in  this  vil- 
lage and  vicinity  for  domestic  purposes.  About  5,000  tons  of  an- 
thracite coal,  and  about  8,000  chaldrons  of  bituminous  coal,  are  used 
for  manufacturing  purposes. 

In  1834,  a  marine  railway  was  constructed  to  draw  up  steam- 
boats and  other  vessels  for  repairing.  There  are  five  principal 
wharves  on  our  shore,  now  in  use,  namely :  Robeson's ;.  the  Iron 
Works  Company's  ;  the  Steamboat  Wharf,  (belonging  to  said  com- 
pany) ;  Slade's  Wharf ;   and  the  Bowenville  Wharf. 

The  steamboat  King  Philip,  named  after  the  famous  Indian  Sa- 
chem, runs  regularly,  and  in  the  summer,  daily,  between  this  port 
and  Providence. 

Fall  River  is  a  port  of  entry.  The  District  of  Fall  River  em- 
braces, besides  this  town,  the  other  towns  adjacent  to  Taunton  river. 
From  the  commencement  of  the  Federal  Government  to  April  1st, 
1837,  it  was  called  the  District  of  Dighton,  and  Dighton  was  the 
port  of  entry.  In  the  beginning  of  1837  the  name  was  changed,  at 
the  instance  of  the  present  Collector,*  to  the  District  of  Fall  River  ; 
since  which,  Dighton  is  only  a  port  of  delivery. 

There  are  now  belonging  to  the  District  of  Fall  River,  registered, 
enrolled  and  licensed  vessels,  113  ;  in  1830  there  were  50  ;  increase 
in  ten  years,  63. 

The  present  tonnage  of  the  District  is  8,809  ;  in  1830  it  was 
4,463  ;  increase  in  ten  years,  4,346.  Five  vessels  are  now  employed 
in  the  whale  fishery,  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  1,189  ;  in  1830 
there  were  none  thus  employed.  The  number  of  seamen  employed 
in  the  District  is  541  ;  in  1830,  it  was  240  ;  increase  in  ten  years, 
301.     In  1839  there  were  foreign  entries,  51 ;  in  1830,  4  ;  increase 

poised  that  the  pressure  of  a  man's  shoulder  or  hand  will  cause  it  to  oscillate.  Its 
form  somewhat  resembles  an  egg.  Professor  Hitchcock,  of  Amherst  College,  visited 
it  two  years  ago,  and  ascertained  its  solid  contents,  and  found  its  weight  to  be  160 
tons.    It  may  be  called  the  Rocking  Stone  ;  and  is  a  curiosity  well  worthy  of  a  visit. 

*Phineas  W.  Leland. 


HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER.  35 

in  ten  years,  47.  American  tonnage  entered  from  foreign  countries 
in  1839,  10,213 ;  in  1829,  518  ;  increase  in  ten  years,  9,695.  Coal 
began  to  be  imported  from  Nova  Scotia,  (Pictou  and  Sidney,)  in 
1833.  There  was  imported  in  1839,  from  Pictou,  in  bushels,  298,- 
260  ;  from  Sidney,  9,756  ;  total ;  308,016  ;  in  1833  there  was  im- 
ported 98,256  ;  increase  in  six  years,  209,760.  From  1,500  to 
2,000  tons  of  Swedish  iron  have  been  imported,  yearly,  by  a  single 
firm  in  this  town.  '  The  amount  of  duties  collected  in  this  District 
in  1833,  was  $13,184;  in  1839,  about  $36,000.  Increase  in  six 
years,  $22,816.  The  average  annual  amount  of  Hospital  money 
collected  for  the  relief  of  sick  and  disabled  seamen,  is  about  $280. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  amount  of  business  in  the  District,  is  done 
in  the  town  of  Fall  River.  About  90  men  and  boys  are  employed 
in  the  whaling  vessels  belonging  to  this  town.  About  100  men  be- 
longing to  this  town  are  employed  in  other  vessels  sailing  from  this 
port,  and  about  200  sailing  from  other  ports  ;  making  390  seamen 
belonging  to  the  town  of  Fall  River.  Of  these,  24  are  masters 
of  vessels.  In  1840,  a  female  Bethel  Society  was  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  Seamen. 
This  society  has  opened  a  room  for  the  sale  of  clothing  and  other 
articles  used  by  seamen  ;  and  gives  good  promise  of  essentially  bene- 
fiting those  "  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  that  do  business  in 
great  waters." 

A  Post  Office  was  established  in  this  town,  January  31,  1811. 
The  first  mail  was  opened  the  12th  of  February  following.  Charles 
Pitman  was  the  first  Postmaster.  He  removed  the  office  to  Steep 
Brook,  March  26,  1813  ;  after  which  there  was  no  post  office  in 
this  village  till  March  18,  1816,  when  the  present  office  was' estab- 
lished, and  Abraham  Bowen  was  appointed  Postmaster.  He  held 
the  office  till  he  died,  April  1824.  James  G.  Bowen,  his  son,  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  held  the  office  till  July,  1831,  when  Benjamin  An- 
thony was  appointed.  He  continued  to  hold  the  office  till  within  a 
few  days  of  his  decease,  June,  1836 ;  soon  after  which,  Caleb  B. 
Vickery,  the  present  incumbent,  was  appointed.  The  amount  of 
postage  collected  at  this  office,  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1826, 
was  $226.86.  For  the  last  five  years  the  receipts  have  been,  for 
postage— in  1836,  $2,330.52;  in  1837,  $2,438.86;  in  1838,  $2,- 
669.57;  in  1839,  $2,960.76;  in  1840,  $2,956.90.  The  average 
of  annual  receipts  at  the  office  is  $2,670.32. 


36  HISTORY   OF  FALL   RIVER. 

There  are  two  Banks  and  an  Institution  for  Savings  in  the  village. 
The  Fall  River  Bank  was  incorporated  in  1825,  with  a  capital  of 
$100,000.  The  capital  was  increased  in  1827,  to  $200,000,  and 
again  in  1836  to  $400,000,  which  is  the  present  capital.  The  Fall 
River  Union  Bank  was  incorporated  at  Bristol,  1824,  and  was  called 
the  Bristol  Union  Bank.  It  was  removed  to  Fall  River  in  1830. 
Capital,  $100,000.  These  institutions  are  carefully  and  faithfully 
conducted.  The  "Fall  River  Institution  for  Savings"  was  incor- 
porated March  11,  1828.  Its  object  is  to  "provide  a  mode  of  ena- 
bling industrious  manufacturers,  mechanics,  laborers,  seamen,  wid- 
ows, minors,  and  others  in  moderate  circumstances,  of  both  sexes, 
to  invest  such  parts  of  their  earnings,  or  property,  as  they  can  con- 
veniently spare,  in  a  manner  which  will  afford  them  profit  and  secu- 
rity. "  The  success  of  the  Institution  has  exceeded  the  highest  hopes 
of  its  friends.  It  has  been  in  operation  twelve  years.  At  the  end 
of  the  first  six  years,  $51,215  were  due  to  depositors.  The  amount 
now  due  to  depositors  is  $240,195.  No  person  can  deposit  more 
than  $1,000.  The  present  number  of  depositors  is  1,117.  In  1840 
the  number  of  deposits  was  820,  and  the  amount  was  $85,294. 
The  amount  withdrawn,  by  323  depositors  in  1840,  was  $35,149  ; 
leaving  an  increase,  in  that  year,  of  over  $50,000.  The  average  of 
dividends  for  the  twelve  years,  has  been  six  per  cent.  The  average 
of  dividends  for  the  last  four  years,  has  been  six  and  a  half  per  cent. 
By  means  of  this  noble  institution,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
of  dollars,  doubtless,  have  been  saved  to  the  widow  and  fatherless, 
and  others  in  moderate  circumstances,  for  a  day  of  need. 

In  1835  the  town  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  acres,  with  a  dwelling  house  thereon,  to  be  improved  as  an  Alms 
House  establishment,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  poor  ;  since 
which  the  poor,  entirely  dependent,  have  been  supported,  economi- 
cally and  comfortably  at  the  Alms  House.  The  ends  to  be  sought 
in  providing  for  the  poor,  "whom  we  have  with  us  always,"  are, 
their  comfort,  health,  industry,  temperance  and  moral  improvement. 
These  should  be  sought  with  economy  and  under  such  regulations  as 
will  afford  all  necessaries  to  the  poor,  and  yet  not  operate  as  a  pre- 
mium upon  idleness  and  vice.  The  regulations  of  our  Alms  House 
establishment  have,  thus  far,  in  a  good  degree,  secured  these  para- 
mount ends.  In  1840,  one  hundred  and  eight  persons  were  relieved 
or  supported ;  of  these,  sixty-three  were  at  the  Alms  House,  and 


HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER.  37 

forty-five  received  aid  elsewhere.  The  average  number  supported 
at  the  Alms  House  was  thirty-four,  at  an  average  cost  of  72  cents 
per  week  ;  twenty-five  of  whom  were  unable  to  perform  any  kind  or 
amount  of  labor.  Four  of  the  number  were  insane  ;  and  three- 
fourths  of  the  paupers  of  the  town,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Overseers 
of  the  poor,  were  made  dependent  by  intemperance  in  themselves,  or 
those  on  whom  their  support  should  have  devolved.  The  expense  of 
supporting  and  relieving  the  poor  in  1840,  including  interest  on 
Alms  House  establishment,  was  $1,800.  The  universal  practice 
of  the  principles  of  Temperance,  would  soon  reduce  our  pauper  tax 
to  a  trifle  ;  a  consummation  which  we  hope  may  ere  long  be  realized. 
The  early  history  of  education  in  our  community,  presents  a 
gloomy  page.  One  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago,  feeble  efforts 
were  put  forth  to  promote  common  schools.  A  few  individuals  seem 
to  have  felt  the  importance  of  teaching  the  rising  generation  the 
knowledge  of  letters  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  there  is  abundant  evi- 
dence that,  in  regard  to  the  simplest  and  most  essential  rudiments 
of  education,  for  a  century  after  the  first  settlements  commenced, 
"darkness  covered"  this  region  and  "gross  darkness  the  people." 
In  pursuing  my  investigations,  it  has  been  most  painful  to  observe 
how  often  deeds  and  other  important  documents  have  been  signed, 
even  by  individuals  who  had  large  estates,  with  the  significent  words, 
"his  mark."  I  am  assured  by  a  respectable  gentleman,  not  yet  fifty 
years  old,  a  native  of  this  place,  that  it  is  within  his  distinct  recol- 
lection that  the  study  of  English  grammar  was  introduced  into  this 
town,  and  that  the  innovation  upon  established  customs,  as  it  was 
considered,  was  the  subject  of  much  conversation.  Another  strik- 
ing indication  of  the  state  of  education  is  seen  in  the  fact  that,  so 
far  as  I  can  learn,  only  three  or  four  persons,  natives  of  the  town  of 
Fall  River,  have  ever  graduated  at  any  College ;  and  only  six  or 
seven,  including  native  born  citizens  and  all  who  have  resided  here. 
A  brighter  day,  however,  in  our  educational  history  has  dawned, 
and  a  more  favorable  page  is  being  filled.  In  1826,  the  town  voted 
to  raise  $600  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  and  appointed  a 
General  School  Committee  to  examine  teachers  and  superintend  the 
schools.  This  measure  has  been  annually  repeated,  with  a  gradual 
increase  of  the  sum  voted,  till  in  1840  it  amounted  to  $4,500.  [See 
Note  Gr,  Appendix.]  Measures  have  been  taken  to  divide  the  town 
into  fourteen  school  districts,  four  of  which  are  located  in  the  village. 


38  HISTORY    OP   FALL    RIVER. 

Most  of  the  ten  districts  out  of  the  village  are  necessarily  small, 
through  the  sparseness  of  the  population.  Four  districts  in  the  vil- 
lage, embracing  1,433  children  out  of  1,789,  (the  whole  number  in 
town  May  1840,  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen,)  are  judi- 
ciously located,  and  are  so  large  that  each  school  is  classified,  and 
each  class  or  branch  is  supplied  with  a  separate  teacher — one  male 
taking  the  immediate  charge  of  the  highest  branch,  and  the  general 
superintendence  of  all  the  branches  in  his  district.  This  is  an  ad- 
mirable arrangement,  which  it  is  hoped  may  be  extensively  adopted. 
[See  Note  H,  Appendix.]  Within  fifteen  years,  nine  or  ten  new 
school  houses  have  been  erected  in  the  town,  most  of  which  are 
wisely  constructed  and  judiciously  located.  In  addition  to  this,  seven 
or  eight  private  schools  are  in  successful  operation  ;  and  some  of  our 
youth  are  now  in  college,  and  others  are  expected  soon  to  enter.* 

In  1835,  an  institution  called  the  "Fall  River  Athenasum,"  was 
established  by  the  exertions  of  individuals,  which  has  a  library  of 
valuable  standard  and  miscellaneous  books,  amounting  at  the  present 
time  to  1,500  volumes,  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  which  are 
taken  weekly  on  an  average,  by  the  proprietors,  who  now  number 
over  three  hundred  persons.  Connected  with  the  Athenseum  is  a 
valuable  cabinet,  consisting  of  specimens  of  common  and  rare  min- 
erals, shells  and  Indian  curiosities,  presented  by  travellers,  voyagers 
and  others. 

In  1825,  the  printing  of  a  weekly  newspaper,  called  the  Fall  River 
Monitor,  was  commenced,  which  has  sustained  a  respectable  charac- 
ter and  is  still  continued.  In  1830  another  weekly  paper,  called  the 
Moral  Envoy,  was  commenced,  and  continued  one  year.  In  1832, 
the  Village  Recorder,  a  weekly  paper,  was  commenced,  and  continued 
till  1836,  when  it  was  united  with  the  Monitor.  In  1837  the  weekly 
publication  of  the  Fall  River  Patriot  was  commenced,  and  that  is  su- 
perseded (within  a  few  weeks)  by  the  Archetype.  Thus  for  fifteen 
years  one,  and  for  nine  years  two  weekly  newspapers  have  been  sus- 
tained in  this  community.  In  addition  to  these,  a  large  number  of  the 
principal  papers  and  periodicals  of  the  country  are  taken  and  read  ; 
so  that  the  present  prosperous  condition  of  our  schools,  public  and 

*The  following  persons,  residents  in  this  town,  have  graduated  at  College :— Na- 
than Durfee,  at  Brown  University,  1824 ;  Thomas  Russell  Durfee,  at  ditto,  1824 ; 
Nehemiah  Gorham  Lovell,  at  ditto,'1833;  Lorenzo  Orren  Lovell,  at  ditto,  1833; 
James  Nichols,  at  Union  College,  1835 ;  William  J.  Knapp,  at  Waterville  College, 
1840.  The  Messrs.  Lovells  fitted  for  College  before  their  family  moved  to  this  town, 
and  can  therefore  hardly  be  considered  as  graduates  of  Fall  River. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER.  39 

private — together  with  the  means  of  knowledge  furnished  by  the 
Athenaeum,  and  our  weekly  papers,  added  to  the  fact  that  there  are 
a  considerable  number  of  learned  men,  in  the  different  professions, 
now  resident  here — shows  that  the  educational  aspect  of  this  place 
is  greatly  changed  for  the  better,  and  that  our  condition  now  is  not 
below  the  Commonwealth  at  large.* 

HI.  The  Ecclesiastical  History  of  this  place,  and  particularly 
of  this  Church.  | 

The  first  settlers  of  Freetown  and  Tiverton  were  chiefly  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Pilgrims,  and  were  of  the  second  and  third  generations  of 
those  noble  men.  They  seem  to  have  inherited,  in  some  degree,  the 
excellent  character  of  their  renowned  ancestors  ;  yet  many  facts  in 
their  history  show  most  fully  that  they  were  not  distinguished  for 
that  superior  intelligence  and  devoted  piety  which  were  conspicuous 
in  their  fathers,  and  even  in  their  cotemporary  settlers  in  some  of  the 
other  towns  of  New  England.  There  are  but  few  indications  of. 
early  efforts  for  the  education  of  children ;  and  I  can  find  no  evi- 
dence of  the  formation  of  a  church  of  any  denomination,  in  Free- 
town or  Tiverton,  for  more  than  half  a  century  after  they  were  in- 
corporated ;  nor  is  there  any  certain  evidence  that  the  people  were 
favored  with  a  stated  ministry,  for  any  length  of  time,  during  that 
long  period.  There  appear  to  have  been  a  few  individuals  of  piety, 
who  were  anxious  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  com- 
mon schools  ;  and  efforts  were  made  to  procure  preachers  and  school 
teachers,  and  in  some  instances  these  efforts  were  successful,  for  a 
limited  period.  But  presentments  to  the  Court  were  repeatedly  made 
against  the  town  of  Freetown,  during  that  period,  by  the  grand  jury, 
for  not  being  provided,  according  to  law,  with  a  resident  ministry. 
And  the  town,  in  town  meeting,  frequently  adopted  measures  to 
answer  to  these  presentments,  or  to  obtain  supplies.  At  a  town 
meeting  in  February,  1703,  Mr.  liobert  Durfee  was  chosen  agent  to 
endeavor  to  "bring  in  a  man  into  town,  to  educate  and  instruct 
children  in  reading  and  writing,  and  dispensing  the  Gospel  to  the 
town's  acceptance  ;"  and  the  measure  so  far  succeeded  that  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Way,  from   Marshfield,   was    obtained   as  such   teacher   and 

*For  an  account  of  Physicians,  Lawyers,  Members  of  Congress  and  of  the  General 
Court,  Town  Clerks,  Selectmen,  &c,  see  Appendix,  Note  I. 

fin  the  delivery  of  these  discourses,  the  morning  and  afternoon  were  occupied  with 
the  Aboriginal  and  Ecclesiastical  History,  and  the  evening  with  the  Civil  History. 
In  printing,  the  natural  order  (the  order  in  which  the  discourses  were  written,)  is 
adopted. 


40  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

preacher,  and  continued  his  services  from  February  14,  1704,  to 
January  21,  1707,  when  the  contract  between  him  and  the  town 
was  dissolved  by  a  vote  of  the  town.  Whether  Mr.  Way  was  or- 
dained and  installed  or  not,  is  uncertain  ;  probably  not.  After  this, 
the  town  had  no  minister  stationed  among  them  (though  they  had 
occasional  preaching,)  for  eight  years,  during  which  time  present- 
ments were  made  against  the  town  to  the  Court,  for  living  without  a 
preacher ;  and  in  one  instance,  to  answer  the  law  which  required 
that  every  town  should  have  a  minister,  the  town  voted  that  Jona- 
than Dodson,  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  should  be  their 
minister ;  but  I  find  no  evidence  that  he  ever  officiated  in  this  char- 
acter. In  May,  1709,  a  petition  was  sent  to  the  Governor  and  Gen- 
eral Court,  praying  for  aid  in  settling  a  minister.  This  petition  was 
signed  by  nearly  twenty  individuals  of  the  town,  and  the  General 
Court  granted  twenty  pounds  from  the  public  treasury,  to  be  paid 
when  the  minister  had  been  here  one  year,  provided  he  be  a  man  ap- 
proved by  three  neighboring  ministers.  [See  this  Petition,  Note  K, 
Appendix.] 

In  1711,  Rev.  Samuel  Danforth,  of  Taunton,  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility, took  measures  to  supply  Freetown  and  Tiverton  with  the 
means  of  grace,  "lest,"  as  he  expressed  it,  " the  noble  work  of  gos- 
pelizing  the  plantations  of  Freetown  and  Tiverton  should  be  impeded 
by  the  discontinuance  of  preaching  among  them"  ;  and  on  the  15th 
of  March,  1711,  he  petitioned  the  General  Court  in  their  favor,  ask- 
ing that  Mr.  Avery  may  have  compensation  for  preaching  in  Free- 
town seven  Sabbaths,  which  petition  was  granted.  On  the  20th  of 
August,  same  year,  the  people  of  Freetown  again  petitioned  the 
General  Court,  alleging  that  they  had  called  the  Rev.  Recompense 
Wadsworth  to  be  their  minister ;  and  twenty  pounds  were  granted 
by  the  General  Court,  on  condition  that  a  minister  was  settled. 
But  objections  being  made  against  Mr.  Wadsworth  by  some,  who 
thought  it.  contrary  to  the  Gospel  for  a  minister  to  have  a  salary, 
he  declined  the  call. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1710,  the  town  voted  to  build  a  meeting 
house  36  feet  long,  26  feet  wide,  and  18  feet  between  joints  ;  and 
not  agreeing  where  to  locate  the  said  house,  the  town,  at  the  same 
meeting,  voted  that  Mr.  Samuel  Danforth,  of  Taunton,  Mr.  John 
Sparhawk,  of  Bristol,  and  Mr.  Richard  Billings,  of  Little  Compton, 
should  be  a  committee  to  determine  where  to  set  the  meeting  house  ; 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER.  41 

who  came  March  7th,  1710,  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  his 
Excellency  the  Governor,  and  after  due  examination,  determined 
that  the  house  should  be  erected  upon  the  land  given  for  the  purpose 
by  the  Hon.  Samuel  Lynde,  which  was  in  the  present  town  of  Pall 
River,  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  directly  opposite  the  dwelling 
house  which  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Capt.  William  Read. 
The  reason  they  give  for  locating  it  there,  is,  that  it  is  "  near  the  cen- 
tre of  the  town."*  The  house  was  completed  and  accepted  by  the 
town  in  1714,  and  was  thereafter  used  both  for  a  meeting  house  and 
town  house.  It  stood  about  one  hundred  years — i.  e.  till  the  year 
1812  or  '14 — during  which  time  it  was  occupied  only  about  thirty 
years  by  a  settled  minister. 

In  1715,  Rev.  Thomas  Creaghead  was  employed  as  a  preacher, 
and  continued  till  1721,  when  difficulties  having  arisen  about  his 
support,  his  labors  ceased.  I  find  no  evidence  that  he  was  installed. 
After  Mr.  Creaghead's  labors  ceased,  for  twenty-five  years  the  town 
was  destitute  of  the  stated  ministrations  of  the  gospel,  and  was  con- 
sidered a  moral  waste.  During  this  time,  presentments  were  repeat- 
edly brought  before  the  Court,  because  the  town  was  not  provided 
with  a  minister  according  to  law.f  The  chief  obstacle,  all  along, 
to  the  settlement  of  a  minister,  seems  to  have  been  the  opposition 
made  by  a  portion  of  the  people  to  paying  a  minister  a  salary.  At 
length  the  time  arrived — Sept.  30,  1747,  sixty  years  after  the  town 
was  incorporated — when  the  first  Church  was  organized.  It  was 
an  Orthodox  Congregational  Church.  Dec.  2d,  of  the  same  year, 
Rev.  Silas  Brett,  of  Easton,  was  ordained  and  installed  as  the  first 
Pastor  of  the  church  in  Freetown.  J  To  the  few  friends  of  Zion  in 
the  town,  and  their  numerous  benefactors  out  of  the  town,  it  was  a 
joyful  day.     The  ordination  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  John  Por- 

*The  lot  upon  which  the  house  was  built,  was  a  lot  of  two  and  a  half  acres  given 
to  the  town  for  a  meeting  house,  burial  ground  and  training  field,  by  Hon.  Samuel 
Lynde,  of  Boston. 

fin  1729,  when  a  presentment  was  made  against  the  town  for  living  without  a 
minister,  the  Selectmen  ottered  a  written  reply  to  the  court,  in  which  they  say, 
"  that  they  humbly  conceive  that  no  such  presentment  properly  can  be  against 
Freetown,  by  reason  that  the  lands  obtained,  were  a  free  purchase  without  any 
manner  of  incumbrance  ;  and  they  are  humbly  of  the  opinion  that  the  law  in  the 
case  is  contrary  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  royal  charter,  which  grants 
liberty  of  conscience  to  all  christians,  papists  only  excepted." 

JRev.  Silas  Brett  was  a  native  of  Bridgewater.    He  received  his  classical  educa- 
tion at  Yale  College  ;  though  for  some  reason  not  known  to  me,  he  did  not  take  his 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.    He  studied  Theology  with  Rev.  Mr.  Anger,  of  Bridge- 
water,  and  preached  some  time  at  Easton,  before'he  was  settled  at  Freetown. 
G 


42  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 

ter,  Pastor  of  the  fourth  Church  in  Bridgewater,  and  was  printed — 
an  imperfect  copy  of  which  I  have  in  my  possession.  He  speaks  of 
Mr.  Brett  in  decided  terms,  as  a  sound,  orthodox  divine,  and  a  man 
of  God,  for  whom  the  best  hopes  were  entertained ;  and  from  his 
subsequent  life  it  seems  Mr.  Brett  well  sustained  the  expectations  of 
his  brethren.  The  preacher  speaks  also  of  the  town  in  the  following 
language  :  "And  is  Freetown  to  have  a  pastor?  then  let  Freetown 
give  glory  to  Jesus  Christ.  Dearly  beloved,  you  have  been  long  as 
sheep  having  no  shepherd.  For  many  years  past,  how  melancholy 
your  circumstances  !  how  dark  your  case !  what  gloomy  prospects 
have  heretofore  arisen  to  you  and  others  on  account  of  your  situa- 
tion and  circumstances  !  But  now,  glory  be  to  God,  the  sun  begins 
to  rise  on  your  horizon  ;  we  rejoice  with  you,  O  Freetown,  that  the 
scene  is  so  agreeably  altered  among  you,  and  the  face  of  things  so 
pleasantly  changed."  "  These  things  fill  our  mouths  with  laughter, 
and  tongues  with  singing.  We  cannot  but  think,  joy  will  diffuse 
through  the  hearts  of  all  that  fear  God  and  wish  well  to  Zion,  when 
they  shall  come  to  hear  of  the  transactions  of  this  day.  And  the 
agreeable  news  has  doubtless  reached  Heaven  before  now,  and  a  song 
of  praise  has  been  sung  by  the  illustrious  inhabitants,  to  the  en- 
throned Jesus,  on  account  hereof."  In  the  preface  to  this  sermon 
the  author  requests  "that  all  who  have  ability  and  a  disposition  to 
contribute  anything  to  so  noble  a  purpose  as  the  support  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  such  as  have  the  management  of  public  collections  for  that 
end,  would  remember  Freetown."  Says  he,  "  I  cannot  but  think  it 
would  be  an  odor  of  a  sweet  smell  unto  that  God  who  hath  said, 
1  he  that  giveth  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  a  disciple,  in  the  name  of  a 
disciple  shall  not  lose  his  reward.'  " 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that,  for  many  years  previous  to  the 
settlement  of  Mr.  Brett,  a  portion  of  the  people  were  opposed  to  pay- 
ing a  minister  a  salary.  This  opposition  was  so  general  and  decided, 
that  before  Mr.  Brett's  ordination,  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  quiet 
all  apprehension  on  this  subject ;  and  accordingly  entered  into  an 
engagement,  which  now  stands  recorded  on  the  first  book  of  town 
records,  and  is  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  This  instrument,  made  at  Freetown,  in  the  County  of  Bristol 
and  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  this  30th 
day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1747,  Witnesseth,  that  J, 
Silas  Brett,  of  Easton,  in  the  County  above  said,  preacher  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER.  43 

gospel,  and  now  pastor  elect  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Christ 
in  Freetown  above  said,  do  hereby  covenant,  promise,  grant,  and 
agree  to  and  with  the  aforesaid  church,  and  the  congregation  usually 
worshipping  with  them,  that  from  the  day  of  my  solemn  separation 
to  the  pastoral  office  in  said  church,  and  for  and  during  the  full  term 
of  time  of  my  continuance  in  that  office,  in  said  church,  I  will  neither 
directly  nor  indirectly  take  advantage,  by  the  laws  of  this  province, 
to  get  a  salary  settled  on  me  in  the  town  of  Freetown  ;  but  look  for 
and  expect  my  support  by  the  freewill  offering  of  the  people.  In 
testimony  whereof,  I  have  subscribed  this  instrument,  to  be  entered 
in  the  records  of  the  church  above  said,  and  also  in  the  records  of 
the  town,  if  it  be  desired. 

Witness  my  hand,  Silas  Brett." 

To  which  is  appended,  on  the  same  page  of  the  town  record,  the 
following,  to  wit : 

4 'At  the  motion  of  two  of  the  Selectmen,  we,  the  subscribers,  do 
hereby  manifest  our  assent  and  consent  to  the  above  written,  as  we 
are  members  of  the  imbodied  Church  of  Freetown.  Witness  our 
hands,  this  first  day  of  December,  1747. 

John  Turner, 
Samuel  Read, 
Shadeach  Hathaway." 

The  means  by  which  Mr.  Brett  was  supported,  were,  1st,  the  free- 
will offerings  of  the  people,  which,  probably,  amounted  to  but  a 
trifle.  2d,  a  small  annual  grant  from  a  Missionary  Society  in  Eng- 
land, and  a  few  friends  in  Boston ;  by  reason  of  which,  he  was  to 
preach  to  a  small  tribe  of  Indians,  the  remains  of  the  Pocasset  tribe, 
east  of  the  Watuppa  pond.*  3d,  the  use  of  a  parsonage  house  and 
farm — a  farm  given  by  Wm.  Hall,  John  Turner,  Ambrose  Barnaby, 
and  Samuel  Read — which  farm  consists  of  fifty-three  acres,  and  lies 
east  of  the  road  and  adjoining  thereto,  in  school  district  No.  5,  of  Fall 
River,  on  the  North-west  corner  of  which  the  school  house  of  said 
district  now  stands — near  which,  some  sixty  or  eighty  rods  from  the 
road,  the  parsonage  house  formerly  stood.  This  farm  was  given 
April  13th,  1748,  in  trust  to  the  Congregational  Ministers  of  Digh- 
ton,  Berkley  and  Plymouth,  "  for  the  use  of  the  ministry,  and  for 

*This  tribe  had  a  small  meeting  house  and  school  house  in  one  building,  east  of 
the  north  Watuppa  pond,  which  stood  till  within  a  dozen  years  ;  and  there  is  a 
tract  of  about  300  acres  of  land  there  still  belonging  to  the  tribe.  This  is  superin- 
tended by  an  agent  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council. 


44  HISTORY    OF   FALL   KIVER. 

the  benefit  of  the  people  in  that  part  of  the  town  forever,  f  William 
Hall,  one  of  the  donors,  lived  in  Little  Compton,  where  he  was  a 
deacon  of  the  church.  John  Turner  (the  elder  Dr.  Turner)  lived 
where  Bowenville  establishment  now  is.  Samuel  Read,  (a  Deacon 
of  the  Church)  who  died  March  1,  1791,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age,  • 
lived  where  Joseph  E.  Read,  his  grand  nephew,  now  lives.  Ambrose 
Barnaby  lived  half  a  mile  North  of  the  North  line  of  the  town  of 
Fall  River,  where  his  grandson,  Stephen  Barnaby,  now  lives. 

For  about  thirty  years,  Mr.  Brett  continued  to  labor  faithfully 
with  the  people  of  his  charge.  At  the  commencement  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  a  portion  of  his  charge  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
mother  country  ;  and  Mr.  Brett,  who  was  a  firm  whig,  was  dis- 
missed, and  removed  his  family  to  Easton.  Subsequent  to  his  dis- 
mission, he  labored  in  several  congregations  ;  and  died  at  Easton, 
April  17,  1791,  aged  75.  The  church  in  Freetown,  of  which  he 
had  been  the  minister,  never  had  another  pastor.  The  congregation 
scattered,  and  at  length  the  church,  which  was  never  large,  became 
extinct.  The  last  members  have  died  within  fifteen  years.  [See 
Note  L,  Appendix.] 

The  First  Christian  Society  was  formed  in  1792,  at  Assonet,  and 
built  a  meeting  house  in  1793.  Elder  P.  Hathaway  was  their  first 
minister.  Thus  Mr.  Brett  was  the  only  settled  minister  in  Freetown 
for  a  hundred  and  ten  years  after  the  town  was  incorporated,  and 
his  ministry  occupied  less  than  one-third  of  that  time. 

Respecting  the  early  ecclesiastical  history  of  Tiverton,  I  have  ob- 
tained but  few  facts.  From  incidental  notices  of  early  writers,  and 
from  records,  it  seems  probable  that  its  moral  and  religious  condition 
for  fifty  years  after  its  incorporation,  was  similar  to  that  of  Freetown 
— being  supplied  only  occasionally  with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 

f  The  language  of  the  deed  is  very  explicit,  and  is  as  follows,  to  wit  :  "  for  the 
use  of  the  ministry  in  the  Congregational  Church  of  Christ,  gathered  in  Freetown 
the  30th  of  September  last,  and  now  subsisting  under  the  pastoral  care  and  charge 
of  the  Rev.  Silas  Brett,  forever  :  provided  that  the  said  Silas  Brett,  the  said  church 
and  their  respective  successors  be,  and  remain  truly  Congregational,  and  sound  in 
the  faith  ;  and  in  case  said  church  should  by  any  means  be  dissolved,  said  trustees 
shall  improve  the  profits  and  income  of  said  house  and  land,  for  the  support  of  some 
learned  orthodox  man  in  preaching  the  gospel  in  Freetown — reference  being  always 
had  to  the  benefit  of  the  people  in  the  Westerly  part  of  said  town,  where  the  present 
church  is  settled,  till  another  Congregational  Church  is  gathered  in  said  part  of  said 
town."  [See  book  36  of  Land  Records  at  Taunton. J  Such  is  the  language  of  the 
deed  ;  from  which  it  seems  absolutely  certain  that  the  donors  meant  the  avails 
'  should  be  appropriated  forever,  to  that  part  of  the  town  where  the  old  meetinghouse 
stood.  Yet  I  have  lately  learnt,  with  astonishment,  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  Mas- 
sachusetts have  decided  that  said  parsonage  belongs  to  a  church  three  or  four  miles 
north,  located  where  not  one  of  the  donors  lived. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    FIVER.  45 

On  the  20th  of  August,  1746,  the  first  church  was  formed  in  'river- 
ton,  in  the  South  part  of  the  town,  composed  of  eleven  men,  (mem- 
bers of  the  church  in  Little  Compton);  -whether  there  were  any  fe- 
males or  not,  the  records  are.  silent,  It  was  a  Congregational  Church, 
and  continues  to  this  day.  In  the  preamble  to  the  sound  orthodox 
Confession  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  adopted  at  the  organization  of 
the  church,  is  this  language :  "It  having  pleased  the  all  wise,  all  dis- 
posing and  gracious  God  to  shine  into  this  dark  corner  of  the  wil- 
derness, and  to  visit  this  dark  spot  of  ground  with  the  day-spring 
from  on  high,  through  his  tender  mercy,  and  to  settle  a  church  of 
Christ  here,  according  to  the  order  of  the  Gospel."  On  the  26th  of 
August,  1746,  the  church  made  choice  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Othniel 
Campbell,  of  Plympton,  (who  had  been  previously  ordained,)  as  their 
pastor.  Whether  Mr.  Campbell  had  been  previously  settled  at 
Plympton,  or  not,  I  have  not  learned.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard College,  in  1728.  The  Church  invited  the  Selectmen  to  call  a 
town  meeting,  to  concur  in  the  choice  of  Mr.  Campbell,  but  they 
declined  the  invitation.*  Mr.  C.  was  installed  Oct.  1,  1746,  and 
preached  his  own  installation  sermon,  [from  2d.  Cor.  vi.  1,]  as  was 
sometimes  the  custom  at  that  clay.  His  pastoral  relation  continued 
thirty-two  years ;  when  he  died,  Oct.  15,  1778,  aged  82.  During 
his  ministry  a  considerable  number  were  added  to  the  church.  After 
his  death,  a  period  of  some  twelve  or  fifteen  years  appears  to  have 
rolled  around  without  a  stated  minister  in  Tiverton,  and  with  only 
occasional  supplies  of  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God.  At  length, 
December  7,  1791,  Rev.  John  Briggs  became  the  stated  minister  of 
the  church  and  people.  He  was  dismissed  October,  1801  ;  when 
they  were  again  destitute,  except  as  they  were  supplied  by  mission- 
aries, among  whom  were  Rev.  Mr.  Davis,  and  Rev.  Jotham  Sewell. 

In  the  summer  of  1815,  Rev.  Benjamin  Whitmore  was  ordained 
pastor  of  the  church,  and  the  next  year  his  pastoral  relation  was 
dissolved.  He  has  since  been  settled  in  the  fourth  parish  in  Ply- 
mouth, where  he  still  labors  with  success. 

Oct.  14,  1818,  Rev.  Ebenezer  Colman  was  ordained  •  pastor  of 
the  church  and  people,  who  continued  with  the  congregation  as  a 
faithful  laborer  till  November  26,  1823,  when  he  was  regularly  and 

*The  town  had  previously  chosen  Mr.  Joseph  Wanton  for  their  minister  ;  and 
though  I  cannot  learn  that  he  preached  long  with  them,  yet  it  seems  the  preference 
some  of  the  people  had  for  him,  led  them  to  decline  uniting  iu  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Campbell. 


46  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 

honorably  dismissed,  for  the  want  of  support.  In  1825,  Rev.  Luther 
Wright  statedly  supplied  the  church  and  people  as  their  minister,  and 
continued  with  them  three  or  four  years,  when  he  left  them,  "  much 
beloved  and  highly  esteemed  for  his  work's  sake. " 

Rev.  Jonathan  King  commenced  his  labors  as  stated  pastor  Oct. 
24,  1828,  and  continued  there  as  a  faithful  and  beloved  servant  of 
Christ,  till  1836,  when  his  labors  ceased.  Rev.  Isaac  Jones,  the 
present  pastor,  commenced  his  labors  Feb.  18,  1838;  and  May  9, 
the  church  voted  to  constitute  him  their  pastor,  so  long  as  he  shall 
•continue  to  supply  their  desk.  Mr.  Jones  is  still  laboring  faithfully 
among  the  people.  The  Congregational  Church  in  Tiverton,  at  no 
time  numerous,  is  now  composed  of  about  forty-five  members.  Dea- 
con David  Tompkins  has  recently  died,  leaving  a  legacy  to  the  church 
of  about  $2,000,  which,  with  funds  previously  owned  by  them,  is 
sufficient  to  enable  them,  with  proper  annual  efforts,  to  sustain  gos- 
pel ordinances  constantly. 

This  church  and  society  have  two  meeting  houses,  in  which  pub- 
lic worship  is  held  alternately.  The  old  house  in  the  South-east 
part  of  the  town,  was  built  nearly  a  century  since.  The  new  house 
in  the  South-west  part  of  the  town  was  built  about  thirty  years  ago. 
If  their  location  and  the  views  of  the  people  would  allow  of  the  use 
of  one  house  only,  it  would  conduce  greatly  to  their  prosperity  to  meet 
statedly,  on  the  Sabbath,  at  one  place.* 

The  first  Congregational  Church  in  Fall  River  was  organized  at 
the  dwelling  house  of  Deacon  Richard  Durfee,  by  a  Council  con- 
vened for  the  purpose,  January  9th,  1816.  j  A  confession  of  faith 
and  form  of  covenant  was  adopted,  embracing  the  leading  evangeli- 
cal doctrines  of  grace  and  rules  of  christian  fellowship,  taught  by  the 
apostles  and  advocated  by  the  reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  by  the  orthodox  Fathers  of  New  England.  The  church,  when 
formed,  was  composed  of  five  members  :  Joseph  Durfee  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth  Durfee,  Richard  Durfee,  Benjamin  Brayton,  and  Wealthy 

*There  is  a  Baptist  Church  with  a  meeting  house  in  the  South-east  part  of  Tiv- 
erton, which  has  existed  some  seventy  years.  There  is  also  a  Baptist  Church  and  a 
meeting  house,  built  in  1807  or  '8,  near  Howland's  Bridge  ;  both  of  which  have 
been  supplied  with  pastors  a  large  portion  of  the  time.  There  is  also  a  Friends' 
meeting  house,  with  a  small  Congregation,  half  a  mile  north  of  the  Bridge.  But  I 
regret  that  I  have  not  obtained  any  very  definite  and  full  information  of  either  of 
these  congregations. 

fThe  council  was  composed  of  the  following  ministers,  to  wit  :— Rev.  Mace  Shep- 
herd, Little  Compton  ;  Rev.  Thomas  Andros,  Berkley  ;  Rev.  Sylvester  Holmes, 
New  Bedford  ;  and  Rev.  Benjamin  Whitmorc,  Tiverton. 


HISTORY    OF    PALL    RIVER.  17 

Durfee,  the  wife  of  Charles  Durfee,  Esq.  Elizabeth  Durfee  died 
May  19th,  1817,  aged  03  years  to  a  day.  Benjamin  Brayton  died 
Dec.  9th,  1829.  Leaving  no  children,  he  bequeathed  the  most  of 
his  property  to  this  church,  to  be  held  in  trust  by  the  Deacons  as  a 
permanent  fund  for  the  support  of  the  ministry.*  The  other  three 
original  members  still  survive,  and  two  of  them  are  present  with  us 
this  day.  For  about  seven  years  after  the  church  was  organized, 
they  had  neither  a  house  for  public  worship,  nor  a  settled  pastor. 
But  from  the  time  of  their  organization,  they  met  regularly  on  the 
Sabbath  for  public  worship.  AVhen  they  were  destitute  of  preach- 
ing, they  read  sermons  and  conducted  the  devotional  exercises  them- 
selves, and  evidently  enjoyed  the  presence  and  favor  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  and  being  of  one  heart  and  soul,  were  comforted  and  multi- 
plied. A  portion  of  the  time  (probably  more  than  two-thirds  of  it,) 
they  had  preaching  through  the  aid  of  Missionary  Societies  ;  to 
which  were  added  their  own  yearly  contributions.  The  missionaries 
by  whom  they  were  supplied,  were  the  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Sanford, 
James  Hubbard,  Amasa  Smith,  Reuben  Torrey,  C.  H.  Nichols,  Cur- 
tis Coe,  Samuel  W.  Colburn,  Moses  Osborne,  Isaac  Jones,  Seth 
Chapin,  Silas  Shores,  Otis  Lane  and  Loring  D.  Dewey  ;  and  per- 
haps others,  whose  names  I  have  not  ascertained.  During  that  pe- 
riod, a  Sabbath  School,  of  more  than  100  persons,  was  gathered  and 
conducted  by  members  of  the  church  ;  and  a  Benevolent  Society, 
composed  of  self-denying  and  devout  women,  was  formed  and  went 
into  active  operation,  whose  great  object  was  to  collect  pupils  for  the 
Sabbath  School,  and  to  provide  clothing  for  all  that  needed  help. 
This  Society  still  exists,  and  labors  with  all  the  freshness  and  vigor 
of  its  earliest  days.  It  has  won  and  wedded  many  to  the  Sabbath 
school,  clothing  them  when  necessary,  and  doing  it  by  their  own 
weekly  manual  labor ;  and  some  of  those  thus  won  and  wedded  to 
the  school,  and  clothed  with  bodily  garments,  have  been  won  and 
wedded  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  clothed  with  the  garments  of  salvation. 
Among  them  is  a  young  man  lately  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
and  now  professor  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  in  one  of  our 
most  prominent  American  Colleges.  Verily,  upon  this  sister  band 
will  come  the  blessing  of  souls  ready  to  perish.  They  will  not  be 
forgotten  before  Him  who  promises  that  he  who  "  gives  a  cup  of  cold 

water  only,  in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  re- 

— • 

*This  fund  now  amounts  to  about  $4,000. 


48  HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER. 

ward. "  But  though  the  church  were  without  a  house  and  without 
a  settled  pastor,  they  were  not  without  a  refreshing  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord.  During  the  first  three  years  after  their  organiza- 
tion, there  were  added  to  the  church,  chiefly  by  profession,  thirty 
members,  among  whom  were  only  four  males.  Of  these  four  breth- 
ren, three  still  survive.  The  other  was  Thomas  R.  Durfee,  a  son  of 
one  of  the  five  original  members.  This  excellent  young  man,  pant- 
ing for  knowledge  and  for  the  blessedness  of  proclaiming  a  Saviour's 
love  to  his  perishing  fellow  men,  pursued  a  course  of  classical  study, 
and  graduated  with  reputation  at  Brown  University  in  the  year 
1824,  after  which  he  read  theology  in  a  regular  course  at  Andover, 
was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  went  to  Missouri  as  a  mis- 
sionary. There  he  found  a  field  of  usefulness,  to  the  cultivation  of 
which  his  intellect  and  his  heart  were  admirably  adapted.  And 
though  his  ministerial  career  was  short,  it  was  bright  and  blessed. 
In  his  preaching,  his  pastoral  labors,  and  his  daily  life,  he  seems 
with  Paul  "determined  to  know  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  and  him 
crucified."  He  died  at  St.  Charles,  Missouri,  July  15,  1833,  aged 
32  years,  greatly  lamented,  both  by  the  friends  of  his  youth  in  his 
native  place,  and  by  a  numerous  circle  at  the  West. 

While  this  church  was  without  a  house  for  public  worship,  their 
meetings  were  held  sometimes  at  private  houses,  sometimes  in  a  large 
store-room,  sometimes  in  the  only  school  house  in  the  place,  and  oc- 
casionally in  the  line  meeting  house,  an  edifice  placed  on  the  line 
between  the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  and  erected 
in  1798,  by  the  various  denominations  living  in  the  region  in  both 
States,  as  a  house  common  to  all,  controlled  by  none. 

Being  greatly  tried  for  the  want  of  a  place  for  public  meetings, 
the  church,  early  in  1819,  after  much  reflection  and  prayer,  took 
incipient  measures  for  building  a  house  of  worship.  They  were  few 
and  feeble ;  they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  people,  many  of  whom 
"feared  not  God,"  nor  regarded  his  Sabbaths,  nor  his  ordinances; 
but  weak  as  they  were  in  men  and  means,  they  trusted  in  the  Lord, 
and  resolved  to  proceed  to  erect  a  house,  where  they  and  their 
children  might  meet  to  pay  their  vows.  At  that  time  there  was  not 
a  house  for  public  worship,  for  any  denomination,  in  the  town  of 
Fall  River ;  nor  had  there  ever  been  one  since  the  town  was  incor- 
ported  in  1803,  except  the  shattered  remains  of  the  old  house  built 
in  1714,  and  standing  within  a  few  rods  of   the  north  line   of  the 


HISTORY    OF    PALL    RIVER,  49 

town,  which  were  not  entirely  removed  till  about  the  year  1812  or 
'14  ;  and  the  Indian  meeting  house  east  of  the  North  Watuppa  pond. 
The  first  measure  pursued  by  the  church,  was  to  see  how  much  could 
be  raised  among  themselves,  which  did  not  exceed  $600.  Their 
next  step  was  to  make  known  their  condition  to  benevolent  individ- 
uals and  wealthy  churches  abroad.  From  this  latter  source,  they 
ultimately  realized  about  three  hundred  dollars.  With  these  scanty 
means,  (two  years  having  been  consumed  in  preparation,)  they  pro- 
ceeded, in  1821  and  '22,  to  the  erection  of  a  neat,  commodious 
House  of  Worship,  45  feet  in  length  by  3C  feet  in  breadth,  with  a 
vestry  underneath,  which  was  dedicated  in  February,  1823.*  This 
was  the  second  meeting  house  built  in  Fall  River — the  Friends  hav- 
ing built  a  small  house  for  worship  in  1821. 

An  Ecclesiastical  Congregational  Society  was  formed  in  1820, 
and  incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  February  1821.|  The  church 
and  society  being  organized,  and  furnished  with  a  sanctuary,  har- 
moniously united  in  the  call  of  their  first  pastor,  the  Rev.  Augustus 
B.  Reed,  who  was  ordained  and  installed  July  2d,  18234  The  sal- 
ary voted  to  Mr.  Reed  was  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year. 
At  the  time  of  his  settlement,  the  church  was  composed  of  about  35 
members.  During  his  ministry  of  two  years  and  one  month,  there 
were  eleven  added  to  the  church,  principally  by  letter.  Mr.  Reed 
was  dismissed  in  regular  standing,  August  3d,  1825.  He  again  set- 
tled July  19th,  1826,  in  Ware,  Mass.,  where,  during  twelve  years 
he  labored  faithfully  and  successfully  ;  and  closed  his  life  serenely, 
Sept.  30,  1838,  aged  39  years. 

After  the  dismission  of  Mr.  Reed,  this  people  were  destitute  of  a 
pastor  till  the  autumn  of  the  following  year,  when  the  Church  and 
society  presented  a  unanimous  call  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  M.  Smith  to 
become  their  pastor,  offering  a  salary  of  $600.  ||  He  accepted  the 
call,  and  was  installed  November  1st,  1826.  § 

*Rev.  Samuel  Austin,  D  D,  of  Newport,  preached  the  dedication  sermon. 

fThe  excitement  which  arose  in  the  town  in  consequence  of  this  act  of  incorpora- 
tion, soon  spent  itself  by  its  own  warmth,  and  ultimately  did  no  harm  to  this  So- 
ciety. 

JMr.  Reed  was  the  son  of  Dea.  Elijah  Reed,  of  Rehoboth.  He  graduated  at  Brown 
University,  1821,  and  studied  Theology  in  his  native  town,  with  Rev.  0.  Thompson. 

IIMr.  Smith  is  the  son  of  Rev.  Daniel  Smith  of  Stamford,  Conn.,  and  graduated 
at  Yale  College,  1816.  He  studied  Theology  at  Andover,  and  was  settled  at  Port- 
land, Me.,  previous  to  his  installation  here. 

§1  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  a  list  of  the  members  of  the  Councils  that  installed 
Messrs.  Reed  and  Smith. 
E 


50  •  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVEE. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Smith's  ministry  commenced,  the  Lord  in  great 
mercy  revived  his  work  among  this  people,  and  in  1827,  fifty-nine 
were  added  (principally  by  profession)  to  the  church.  His  ministry 
continued  four  years  and  a  half,  during  which  eighty-nine  were  added 
to  the  church.  Having  received  a  call  to  the  Church  in  Catskill, 
N.  Y.j  Mr.  Smith  was  dismissed  in  good  standing,  April  27th,  1831. 
In  1839,  he  was  dismissed  from  Catskill,  having  received  a  call  to 
the  North  Congregational  Church  in  New  Bedford,  of  which  he  is 
now  the  colleague  pastor. 

In  1827,  the  first  year  of  Mr.  Smith's  ministry,  an  addition  of 
twenty -five  feet  was  made  to  the  length  of  the  meeting  house. 

Only  two  Sabbaths  passed  after  Mr.  Smith's  labors  closed  here, 
before  the  labors  of  the  present  pastor  commenced,  May  22d,  1831. 
To  him  also  the  church  presented  a  unanimous  call  to  settle  with 
them  in  the  ministry,  with  the  offer  of  a  salary  of  $7  00,  J  which  was 
accepted,  and  his  installation  took  place  July  7th,  1831.||  In  the 
call  and  settlement  of  each  of  their  pastors,  the  Church  and  Society 
have  acted  as  distinct  and  separate  bodies,  (the  church  acting  first;) 
and  yet  they  have  harmoniously  co-operated,  and ,  deserve  commen- 
dation for  their  unanimity,  and  their  uniform  adherence  to  sound, 
protestant,  congregational  principles. 

In  the  fall  of  1831,  the  Holy  Ghost  was  poured  again  upon  this 
flock,  and  before  the  year  1832  closed,  sixty-one  (ten  by  letter,)  were 
added  to  the  church.  The  congregation  having  out  grown  the  first 
house  of  worship,  this  sacred  Temple  was  erected  in  1831  and  '32. 
Its  length  (including  the  Portico)  is  eighty-five  feet,  its  breadth  sixty- 
five.  On  the  lower  floor  there  are  118  pews.  The  cost  of  the  house 
and  lot  (not  including  the  organ)*  was  about  $16,000.  This  house 
was  dedicated  to  God,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  Nov.  21st, 

fin  1834,  $200  were  added  to  the  salary,  and  $100  more  in  1836. 

||The  Council  called  for  the  Installation  of  the  present  Pastor,  was  composed  of 
the  following  Bishops  and  delegates  : — Bishops — Rev.  Erastus  Maltby,  of  Taunton, 
(who  offered  the  first  prayer);  Rev.  Abel  McEwen,  of  New  London,  (who  preached  . 
the  sermon);  Rev.  Thomas  Andros,  of  Berkley,  (who  offered  the  installing  prayer); 
Rev.  Samuel  Nott,  D.  D.,  of  Franklin,  Ct.,  (who  was  moderator  and  gave  the 
charge);  Rev.  Thomas  T.  Waterman,  of  Providence,  (who  gave  the  right  hand); 
Rev.  Richard  S.  Storrs,  of  Braintree,  (who  addressed  the  people);  Rev.  Preston 
Cummings,  of  Dighton,  (who  offered  the  last  prayer);  Rev.  Alvan  Cobb,  of  West 
Taunton,  (who  was  scribe);  and  Rev.  Stetson  Raymond,  of  Freetown.  Delegates — 
C  Godfrey,  Andrew  M.  Frink,  Deacon  J.  Cady,  Asa  French,  Deacon  G.  Babbitt, 
Lorenzo  Lincoln,  Deacon  Benjamin  Burt  of  Labanon,  Conn.,  Amos  Fowler  of  Re- 
hoboth,  and  Deacon  Elijah  Reed. 

*The  organ  was  built  bv  the  Messrs.  Hooks,  of  Boston,  in  1835,  and  cost  about 
$2,000. 


HISTORY    OK    FALL    RIVER.  51 

1832  ;  on  which  occasion  the  pastor  preached  from  Ilaggai,  2d  chap., 
9th  verse,  and  was  assisted  in  the  devotional  services  by  several  of 
his  brethren  in  the  ministry. 

In  1834  the  work  of  the  Lord  was  once  more  revived,  and  during 
that  year  forty-nine  were  added  to  the  church.  Again  in  183G  the 
Holy  Spirit  descended  with  great  power,  and  during  that  year  one 
hundred  and  nine  were  added  to  the  church.  In  the  beginning  of 
1840,  God  visited  this  people  once  more  with  the  special  effusions 
of  his  spirit,  and  during  that  year  sixty-seven,  all  but  two  by  pro- 
fession, were  gathered  into  the  church.  Thus  since  the  first  of  Jan- 
uary, 1827,  there  have  been  five  seasons  of  special  revival  in  this 
congregation,  and  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  have  been  added  to 
the  church  since  the  installation  of  the  present  pastor.  Since  July, 
1831,  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  has  been  administered 
fifty-eight  times  ;  at  forty-five  of  which  additions  have  been  made 
to  the  church.  Days  for  prayer  and  fasting  have  been  set  apart  re- 
peatedly by  this  church,  from  its  earliest  years  to  the  present  time  ; 
and  the  great  head  of  the  church  has  evidently  put  his  blessing  upon 
these  seasons.  The  wonders  which  the  grace  of  God  has  wrought 
in  behalf  of  this  flock,  are  too  many  to  be  recounted  in  this  brief 
sketch,  and  yet  they  are  too  great  and  mighty  to  be  passed  unno- 
ticed. Verily  the  arm  of  the  Lord  hath  been  revealed  in  the  midst 
of  us;  and  the  language  of  the  prophet,  "  a  little  one  shall  become 
a  thousand,  and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation  ;  I  the  Lord  will  hasten 
it  in  his  tim6,"  is  applicable  to  the  history  of  this  congregation.  Let 
us  set  up  our  Ebenezer  stone  to-day,  as  did  Samuel  the  prophet,  say- 
ing, "hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us."  And  let  us  never  fail  to 
utter  the  cry  of  David,  "  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but 
unto  thy  name,  give  glory,  for  thy  mercy  and  thy  truth's  sake." 

The  whole  number  received  to  this  church,  is,  original  members 
five  ;  previous  to  Mr.  Reed's  installation,  thirty  ;  during  his  minis- 
try, eleven  ;  during  Mr.  Smith's  ministry,  eighty-nine  ;  since  the 
present  pastor's  installation,  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  ;  total, 
four  hundred  and  seventy-one.  Of  the  whole  number,  twenty-three 
only  (if  I  am  correctly  informed)  have  died.  Eighteen  have  died 
since  July,  1831  ;  most  of  them  firm  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  with 
hopes  full  of  immortality.  About  eighty  have  received  letters  of 
recommendation  and  become  connected  with  churches  to  which  they 
liave  removed  ;  four  have  been  excommunicated  ;  and  three  hun- 


52  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 

drecl  and  sixty-four  are  now  members  ;  about  forty  of  whom  are 
non-residents.  There  are  now  about  two  hundred  and  seventy  fam- 
ilies connected  with  this  congregation.  I  have  baptized  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight  adults,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty- three  children, 
total  311.  Fifty  adults  and  eighty-six  children  were  baptized  by 
my  predecessors.  Total  baptisms  four  hundred  and  forty-seven. 
Since  my  connection  with  this  people,  I  have  married  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  couple,  an  average  of  about  13  couple  a  year.* 

During  the  last  ten  years,  the  other  evangelical  churches  in  this 
place  have  shared  largely  also  in  the  effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ; 
and  though  I  am  not  able  to  state  the  definite  number  of  hopeful 
conversions  to  God  in  this  village  within  this  period,  I  think  it  may 
safely  be  estimated  at  more  than  one  thousand.  "  What  hath  God 
wrought!" 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  a  Sabbath  School  was  organized 
in  the  early  years  of  this  church.  This  Institution  has  been  con- 
tinued, with  growing  numbers  and  increasing  usefulness  to  the  pres- 
ent time  ;  and  during  ten  years  past,  it  is  not  recollected  that  the 
Sabbath  School  has  failed  of  being  assembled  for  a  single  Sabbath  ; 
nor  has  the  pulpit  been  unsupplied  for  a  single  half  day,  in  that  time. 
In  the  summer  of  1840,  the  number  actually  present  at  the  Sabbath 
School,  at  one  time,  exceeded  five  hundred.  And  the  average  num- 
ber present,  during  the  summer  of  that  year  was  from  four  to  five 
hundred.  The  whole  number  belonging  to  the  school  in  1840,  was 
about  six  hundred  and  fifty.  The  instructions  given  in  the  school, 
have  been  greatly  blessed  of  God.  In  every  revival  with  which  this 
people  has  been  visited,  the  Sabbath  School  has  largely  shared. 
Nearly  half  of  those  added  to  the  church  in  1840,  were  previously 
members  of  the  Sabbath  School.  A  similar  remark  applies  to  all 
previous  revivals.  We  hope  the  time  is  near,  when  the  whole  con- 
gregation, indeed  the  whole  community,  will  be  connected  with  the 
Sabbath  School. 

In  this  sketch  of  our  Ecclesiastical  History,  I  must  not  omit  a 
brief  notice  of  the  early  benefactions  of  others  bestowed  upon  this 
people,  nor  of  the  later  benefactions  of  this  people  bestowed  upon 
others.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  early  aid  from  Mission- 
ary Societies.     In  1817  the  Mass.  Missionary  Society  voted  $80 ; 

*For  several  years  past,  the  annual  number  of  marriages  in  this  town,  has  been 
about  sixty-five  couple. 


HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER.  53 

inl818,$G4;  in  1819,  $100;  in  1820,  $9G  ;  in  1821,  $48  ;  and  in 
1822,  $80.  For  a  number  of  years  aid  was  received  from  the  avails 
of  the  parsonage  formerly  occupied  by  Rev.  Mr.  Brett,  amounting 
in  all  to  about  $500.  In  July,  1822,  the  Society  for  promoting 
christian  knowledge,  offered  this  church  $500,  on  condition  that 
they  would  settle  a  minister.  The  offer  was  at  first  declined,  but 
the  next  year,  on  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Reed,  was  accepted  ;  and 
for  two  years,  a  proportional  part  of  that  sum  was  received.  As 
Mr.  Reed  was  then  dismissed,  I  am  unable  to  determine  whether 
the  remainder  was  received  or  not.  In  the  years  1826,  '27,  '28  and 
'29,  $100  a  year  were  received  from  the  Massachusetts  Missionary 
Society.  After  this  the  church  and  society  were  able  to  stand  alone. 
Thus  for  ten  or  twelve  years  the  pecuniary  resources  of  this  church 
and  congregation  were  supplied  in  part  by  the  friends  of  Home  Mis- 
sions abroad  ;  without  which  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel,  in  all 
probability,  would  not  have  been  sustained  in  this  congregation,  and 
for  which  many  thanks  are  due  to  God,  and  the  benevolent  who  af- 
forded their  timely  assistance.  Since  1829,  no  aid  has  been  received 
from  abroad  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  aid  has  been  freely,  I  may  say 
liberally,  imparted  to  others.  In  1832,  the  church  voted  to  make 
collections  six  times  a  year,  i.  e.  once  in  two  months,  for  the  various 
prominent  objects  of  benevolence,  to  wit :  Foreign  and  Home  Mis- 
sions, the  Sabbath  School,  Tract,  Bible,  and  Education  Societies. 
The  following  year  the  vote  was  repeated,  and  at  length  this  was 
settled  as  the  course  of  annual  operations ;  and  in  every  instance, 
when  the  time  has  arrived  for  an  effort  in  behalf  of  a  particular 
cause,  a  collection  has  been  made,  and  usually  with  good  success. 
And  I  believe  it  may  be  truly  said  that  many  among  us  are  cheerful 
benefactors,  and  have  learned  "that  it  is  truly  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive."* 

Since  this  church  was  organized,  eight  brethren  have  sustained 
the  office  of  Deacon,  all  of  whom  still  survive,  and  all  but  two  of 
whom  were  inducted  into  office  according  to  Apostolic  rule,  by 
prayer  and  the  laying  on  of  hands,  f     Five  of  them,  having  removed 

*  Within  ten  years  this  church  and  congregation  have  contributed  to  various  ob- 
jects of  christian  benevolence  more  than  four  times  the  amount  of  all  the  aid  they 
ever  received  while  in  their  weakness. 

f  The  names  of  the  deacons  are  as  follows  : — 


54  HISTORY    OF   FALL    EIVEK. 

from  town,  resigned  their  office,  and  there  are  only  three  deacons  of 
the  church  at  the  present  time.  J 

In  1820,  I  have  before  stated,  there  was  no  meeting  house  in  this 
village,  except  the  one  which  stood  on  the  State  line.  That  has 
since  been  taken  down,  and  eleven  others  have  been  erected,  three  of 
which,  having  been  found  too  small,  have  been  converted  to  other 
uses.  Eight  of  the  eleven  are  still  in  use  ;  most  of  them  are  large, 
and  all  of  them  are  neat,  substantial,  commodious  structures  for  pub- 
lic worship. 

There  are  now  in  this  village  eleven  congregations.  The  statistics 
of  their  history  will  be  given,  on  the  authority  of  their  own  minis- 
ters, or  other  leading  members. 

The  Friends  commenced  public  worship  here  in  1819.  Benjamin 
Buffington,  who  is  one  of  our  oldest  citizens,  was  then  and  continues 
to  be  their  minister.  Their  first  meeting  house  was  built  in  1821. 
It  was  removed,  and  their  present  house  was  erected  in  1836.  They 
have  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  members,  and  forty  families. 

The  statistics  of  the  Congregational  Church  and  Society  having 
been  already  given,  need  not  be  repeated. 

The  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  1781,  and  was  located  at 
the  Narrows,  two  miles  East  of  this  village,  where  their  first  meet- 
ing house  stood.  It  was  called  the  Second  Baptist  Church  in  Tiver- 
ton, till  1825,  when  the  church  and  congregation  removed  to  the 
village,  since  which  the  church  has  taken  the  name  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  in  Fall  River.  Their  first  meeting  house  in  the  vil- 
lage was  erected  in  1828,  and  occupied  till  last  year,  when  their 
present  house  was  built,  and  dedicated  Sept.  16,  1840.  They  num- 
ber 275  families,  and  603  communicants  ;  a  portion  of  their  com- 
municants reside  in  the  region  around  this  village.  Their  Society 
was  incorporated  June  1831.  They  have  enjoyed  the  labors  of  four 
regular  pastors :  Rev.  Messrs.  Amos  Burroughs,  Job  Borden,  Brad- 

ELECTED.  RESIGNED. 

Sylvester  C  Allen,  October  17, 1821,  March  16, 1835. 

Richard  Durfeee,  December  1, 1823, 

Mathew  C  Durfee,  August  19, 1833,  Sept.  19, 1836. 

Benjamin  S.  Bourne.  December  16, 1833,  May  19, 1831. 

David  Anthony,  October  20,  1834, 

Samuel  L.  Whipple,  August  15, 1836,  Nov.  3, 1839. 

Leander  P.  Lovell,  August  15,  1836, 

Philip  R.  Bennett,  November  14, 1836,  Sept.  18,  1837. 

Jit  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  no  Deacon  of  this  church  has  departed  this  life  5  and 
also,  that  no  minister  of  our  denomination,  nor,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  of  any  de- 
nomination, has  died  in  the  town  since  it  was  incorporated. 


HISTORY    OF    PALL    RIVER.  55 

ley  Minor,  and  Asa  Bronson,  the  present  pastor.  They  have  had 
two  assistant  pastors,  Messrs.  James  Boomer  and  A.  A.  Boss,  both 
of  whom  were  assistants  to  Mr.  Borden,  who  was  entirely  blind  for 
forty  years,  and  during  his  whole  ministry.  Their  Sabbath  School  in 
the  village  numbers  617  ;  the  average  attendance  in  1840,  was  415. 

The  Methodist  Church  was  formed  in  182G.  Their  first  meeting 
house  was  built  in  1827,  and  dedicated  in  .December  of  that  year. 
Their  present  house  was  built  in  1839,  and  dedicated  in  February, 
1840.  Their  Society  was  incorporated  January,  1839.  They  have 
had  eleven  ministers,  namely :  Rev.  Messrs.  N.  B.  Spalding,  E.  T. 
Taylor,  E.  Blake,  D.  Webb,  I.  M.  Bidwell,  S.  B.  Hascall,  M.  Sta- 
ples, J.  Fillmore,  H.  Brownson,  P.  Crandall,  and  J.  Bonney,  their 
present  pastor.  They  number  225  communicants  and  100  families. 
Their  Sabbath  School  numbers  220,  and  the  average  attendance  for 
1840,  was  about  160. 

The  Christian  Church  was  organized  April,  1829.  Their  house 
was  built  in  1831,  and  dedicated  September  26th  of  that  year. 
Their  Society  was  incorporated  June  1831.  They  have  had  eight 
ministers,  to  wit :  Rev.  Messrs.  Joshua  V.  Himes,  Benjamin  Taylor, 
H.  Taylor,  James  Taylor,  Simon  Clough,  Mr.  Lane,  A.  G.  Cum- 
mings,  and  Jonathan  Thompson,  who  has  left  within  a  few  days. 
The  number  of  members  in  full  communion  is  426,  and  of  families, 
140.  Their  Sabbath  School  numbers  264,  and  the  average  attend- 
ance for  1840,  was  170. 

The  Unitarian  Society  was  incorporated  March,  1832.  They  pur- 
chased and  occupied  the  meeting  house  formerly  belonging  to  the 
Congregational  Church ;  and  their  first  minister,  Rev.  George  W. 
Briggs,  was  installed  Sept.  24,  1834.  He  was  dismissed  November, 
1837.  Rev.  A.  C.  L.  Arnold  was  installed  March  23,  1840.  Their 
present  meeting  house  was  built  in  1834,  and  dedicated  January  28, 
1835.  Their  present  number  of  communicants  is  thirty,  and  of  fam- 
ilies ninety-five.  Their  Sabbath  School  numbers  100,  and  the  aver- 
age attendance  for  1840,  was  50. 

The  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  July  15,  1836,  and  is  called 
"The  Church  of  the  Ascension."  Their  Society  was  incorporated 
in  1837.  Two  ministers  have  labored  statedly  with  them, — Rev. 
P.  H.  Greenleaf,  and  their  present  minister,  Rev.  George  M.  Ran- 
dall, whose  labors  commenced  July,  1838.  They  have  purchased 
the  house  lately  occupied  by  the  Baptist  Church,  which  was  conse- 


56  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 

crated  August,  1840.  The}'  number  60  members  in  communion,  and 
40  families.  Their  Sabbath  School  has  130,  and  an  average  attend- 
ance of  about  100. 

The  Associate  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in  August, 
1837.  They  have  no  minister,  and  no  meeting  house,  and  for  some 
time  past  have  discontinued  public  worship,  or  met  only  occasionally.* 

The  Catholics,  who  are  chiefly  Irish  immigrants,  have  a  house  for 
worship,  which  was  built  in  1836-7.  They  number  about  110  fam- 
ilies, and  from  200  to  220  in  their  Sabbath  School. 

In  March,  1840,  a  Universalist  Society  was  formed,  belonging  to 
which  are  27  members,  35  families,  and  35  Sabbath  School  teachers 
and  pupils.  They  have  no  school  in  the  winter.  No  church  is 
formed.  They  have  had  preaching  the  year  past,  but  now  they  have 
no  stated  preacher,  and  no  meeting  house. 

There  are  three  families  residing  here,  who  are  connected  with  the 
New  Jerusalem  Church  in  Bridgewater.  They  commenced  holding- 
meetings  at  a  private  house  in  1839,  and  still  continue  them. 

Thus  while  three  or  four  of  the  Congregations  in  this  village  are 
small,  most  of  the  others  are  large ;  and  they  are  composed  of  a 
young,  intelligent  and  enterprising  population.  From  the  foregoing 
statistics,  it  appears  that  the  number  of  members,  in  eight  of  the 
churches,  is  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five ;  and  that 
the  number  of  families  nominally  connected  with  the  eleven  congre- 
gations, is  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  ten.  This  is  nearly  equal 
to  the  whole  number  of  families  in  the  village  and  vicinity.  Most 
of  the  families  among  us  consider  themselves  as  nominally  connected 
with  some  congregation  ;  though  many,  (it  is  believed  not  less  than 
200  families,)  rarely,  if  ever  attend  public  worship. 

It  appears,  moreover,  that  2,281  are  enrolled  in  the  several  Sab- 
bath Schools,  and  that  the  aggregate  average  attendance  in  them  is 
1,573. 

It  may  be  added,  that  though  this  people  are  divided  into  so  many 
sects, — each  of  which  is  neither  slow  nor  timid  to  assert  and  defend 
its  distinctive  doctrinal  peculiarities, — yet  perhaps  there  is  no  town 
in  New  England  where  more  general  harmony  prevails,  or  kinder 
neighborhood  intercourse  is  enjoyed,  or  where  the  members  of  differ- 
ent denominations  shake  hands  more  cordially. 

*This  Church  was  subsequently  disbanded.— Pub. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    BIVER.  57 

It  is  time  to  close  this  discourse.  My  brethren  and  friends,  all 
earthly  things  are  changing,  fading,  vanishing  away.  One  gener- 
ation goeth,  and  another  comcth.  "  Our  fathers,  where  arc  they  ?" 
We  shall  presently  follow  them,  and  our  children,  in  turn,  will  soon 
lie  quietly  in  the  dust,  by  our  side.  In  a  little  while  we  shall  walk 
these  streets  and  meet  in  these  temples  no  more. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  origin,  progress,  present  condition,  and  peo- 
ple, of  this  new  and  thriving  place.  But  notwithstanding  these 
ever  falling  waters,  and  these  granite  buildings,  and  all  this  iron  ma- 
chinery, and  every  thing  that  looks  so  strong  and  permanent  around 
us,  the  time  may  come  when  this  village  shall  be  razed  from  its  deep- 
est foundations.  Where  are  the  people  of  former  ages  %  They  all 
sleep  in  the  dust.  Where  are  the  mighty  works  which  their  enter- 
prize  and  industry  produced  ?  They  have  long  ago  tumbled  into 
ruin.  Where  is  Babylon,  "The  glory  of  the  Chaldees'  excellency," 
with  her  broad  walls  and  lofty  terraces  %  Where  is  No,  [Thebes,] 
populous  No,  with  her  hundred  gates  and  her  temples  of  massy 
stone  ?  Where  is  Ninevah,  that  exceeding  great  city,  of  three  days' 
journey  about,  Avith  her  1,500  towers,  400  feet  in  height  ?  They 
are  gone,  gone  forever  ;  and  the  spots  where  they  respectively  stood 
are  hardly  known.  And  what  shall  be  the  future  history  of  this, 
our  village  %  Who  can  ask  this  question  %  Who  of  us  can  antici- 
pate the  answer  to  this  question,  without  deep  solicitude  %  For  my- 
self, I  may  be  allowed  to  say,  that  having  spent  nearly  ten  years  of 
my  life  on  this  spot,  and  in  devoting  my  best  energies  to  the  service 
of  this  people,  I  feel  an  interest  in  the  future  prosperity  and  glory 
of  Fall  Eiver,  felt  for  no  other  place  on  earth. 

In  conlusion,  then,  let  me  urge  my  beloved  brethren  and  sisters  in 
Christ,  and  the  whole  people  of  my  charge,  and  all  my  respected 
neighbors  of  other  congregations,  "to  fear  God  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments. "  If  the  Lord  be  honored  ;  if  his  Sabbaths  be  kept 
holy ;  if  his  word  be  studied  and  obeyed  ;  if  profanity,  and  intem- 
perance, and  injustice,  and  all  immorality  be  put  away,  and  truth, 
and  purity,  and  piety  prevail ;  if  the  family  altar  be  set  up  and 
kept  iip  in  our  houses  ;  if  our  fathers  and  mothers,  following  Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified, 

"  Allure  to  brighter  worlds,  and  lead  the  way;" 
if  our   "young  men  and  maidens"  seek  the  Lord,  and  praise  His 
name  ;  if  our  children  are  "trained  up  in  the  way  they  should  go," 


58  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

and  consecrate  the  dew  of  their  youth  to  Him  who  requires  the 
heart ;  then  this  village  will  grow,  and  live,  and  be  the  blessed 
dwelling  place  of  many  generations  yet  unborn.  And,  beloved,  we 
will  cleave  to  the  precious  and  consoling  assurance  that  God,  who 
has  shown  us  that  he  is  rich  in  mercy,  will  yet  pour  forth  more  co- 
pious showers  of  grace  ;  and  that  every  soul  in  this  place  may  be 
turned  "from  the  error  of  his  ways  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just." 
You  will  join  me  in  the  prayer,  that  those  who  are  in  infancy  and 
youth,  and  all  who  shall  rise  up  in  our  places,  when  we  are  dead 
and  in  the  dust,  may  serve  God  with  greater  zeal  and  fidelity  than 
we  have  done  ;  and  that  the  bright  sun,  which  shall  not  go  down  for 
a  thousand  years,  may  rise  early  and  shine  without  a  cloud  upon 
this  our  goodly  heritage.  Then,  when  we  are  gone,  men  more  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  truth  and  piety  will  occupy  our  places,  and 
more  fervent  prayers  than  ours  will  ascend  from  this  favored  spot. 
Then  these  little  elms,*  that  now  wave  in  the  breeze,  will  spread 
their  majestic  branches  over  a  people  whom  the  King  of  Zion  will 
delight  to  honor.  Then  the  thousands  of  Israel,  while  they  bow 
before  the  throne  of  mercy,  with  a  fervor  of  faith  and  devotion  kin- 
dled by  the  full  beams  of  millenial  glory,  will  here  dwell  in  harmony 
and  love,  and  divine  influence  will  come  upon  Fall  River  "as  the 
dew  of  Hermon,  and  as  the  dew  that  descended  upon  the  mountains 
of  Zion,  where  the  Lord  commanded  His  blessing,  even  life  forever- 
more.  " 

^Main  Street  was  set  with  two  rows  of  elms  in  1840. 


APPENDIX.  50 


APPENDIX 


NOTE  A— PAGE  19. 


A  late  writer,  speaking  of  Col.  Church,  says : — "  Of  all  the  English  who 
bore  commands  during  the  great  Indian  war,  none  was  so  much  feared,  so 
much  respected,  and  finally  so  much  beloved  by  them,*  as  this  terrible  and 
triumphant  enemy.  In  conducting  such  wars,  he  was  unrivalled ;  though 
many  have  acquired  much  reputation  for  their  skill  in  managing  and  fighting 
Indians,  none  have  exhibited  a  genius  or  an  aptitude  equal  to  Church.  An- 
thony Wayne  and  Andrew  Jackson  have  received  their  full  share  of  fame  for 
their  skill  and  their  knowledge  in  directing  the  operations  of  this,  the  most 
dangerous  and  dreadful  of  all  the  modes  of  war  ;  but  they  were  never  placed 
in  such  perils  and  difficulties  as  were  encountered  and  overcome  by  Benjamin 
Church." 

Benjamin  Church  was  born  at  Duxbury,  1639.  He  married  Alice  South- 
worth,  grand-daughter  of  the  distinguished  wife  of  Gov.  Bradford, — by  whom 
he  had  five  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  wife  of  the  late  Deacon  Sylvester 
Brown  ell,  of  Little  Compton,  was  his  great-grand-daughter. 


NOTE  B— PAGE  19.    DEED  OF  THE  FREEMEN'S  PURCHASE. 

11  Know  all  men  by  these  Presents,  that  we,  Ossamequin,  Wamsitta,  Tatta- 
panum,  natives  inhabiting  and  living  within  the  government  of  New  Plymouth, 
in  New  England,  in  America,  have  bargained,  sold,  enfeoffed  and  confirmed 
unto  Capt.  James  Cudworth,  Josiah  Winslow,  Constant  Southworth,  John 
Barnes,  John  Tesdale,  Humphrey  Turner,  Walter  Hatch,  Samuel  House, 
Samuel  Jackson,  John  Damon,  Mr.  Timothy  Hatherly,  Timothy  Foster, 
Thomas  Southworth,  George  Watson,  Nathaniel  Morton,  Richard  Moore, 
Edmund  Chandler,  Samuel  Nash,  Henry  Howland,  Mr.  Ralph  Patridge,  Love 
Brewster,  William  Paybodie,  Christopher  Wads  worth,  Kenelme  Winslow, 
Thomas  Bourne,  John  Waterman,  the  son  of  Robert  Waterman ;  and  do  by 
these  presents  bargain,  sell,  enfeoff  and  confirm  from  us,  our  heirs,  unto 
James  Cudworth,  Josiah  Winslow,  &c,  and  their  heirs,  all  the  tract  of  upland 
and  meadow  lying  on  the  easterly  side  of  Taunton  river,  beginning  or  bounded 


60  APPENDIX. 


toward  the  South  with  the  river  called  the  Falls,  or  Quequechand,  and  so  ex- 
tending itself  northerly  until  it  comes  to  a  little  brook,  called  by  the  English 
by  the  name  af  Stacey's  Creek,  which  brook  issues  out  of  the  woods  into  the 
marsh  or  bay  of  Assonet,  close  by  the  narrowing  of  Assonate  Neck,  and  from 
a  marked  tree  near  the  said  brook  at  the  head  of  the  marsh,  to  extend  itself 
into  the  woods  on  a  northeasterly  point  four  miles,  and  from  the  head  of  said 
four  miles  on  a  strait  line  southerly  until  it  meet  with  the  head  of  the  four 
mile  line  at  Quequechand,  or  the  Falls  aforesaid ;  including  all  meadows, 
necks,  or  islands  lying  and  being  between  Assonate  Neck  and  the  Falls  afore- 
said, (except  the  land  that  Tabatacason  hath  in  present  use,)  and  all  the  mead- 
ows upon  Assonate  Neck,  on  the  South  side  of  the  said  Neck.  And  all  the 
meadow  on  the  westerly  side  of  Taunton  river  from  Taunton  bounds  round 
until  it  comes  to  the  head  of  Weypoyset  river ;  in  all  creeks,  coves,  rivers, 
and  inland  meadow  not  lying  above  four  miles  from  the  flowing  of  the  tide 
in ;  and  for  the  consideration  of  twenty  coats,  two  rugs,  two  iron  pots,  two 
kettles  and  one  little  kettle,  eight  pair  of  shoes,  six  pair  of  stockings,  one 
dozen  of  hoes,  one  dozen  of  hatchets,  two  yards  of  broadcloth,  and  a  debt 
satisfied  to  John  Barnes,  which  was  due  from  Wamsitta  unto  John  Barnes 
before  the  24th  of  December,  1657  ;  all  being  unto  us  in  hand  paid ;  where- 
with we,  the  said  Osssamequin,  Wamsitta,  Tattapanum,  are  fully  satisfied, 
contented  and  paid,  and  do  by  these  presents  exonerate,  acquit,  and  discharge 
[here  all  the  grantees  are  again  named]  they  and  either  of  them  and  each  of 
the  heirs  and  executors  of  them  forever.  Warranting  the  hereof  from  all 
persons  from,  by,  or  under  us,  laying  any  claim  unto  the  premises  from,  by, 
or  under  us,  claiming  any  right  or  title  thereunto,  or  unto  any  part  or  parcel 
thereof,  the  said  [grantees]  to  have  and  to  hold  to  them  and  their  heirs  for- 
ever, all  the  above  upland  and  meadow  as  is  before  expressed,  with  all  the 
appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  from  us,  Ossamequin,  Wamsitta,  and 
Tattapanum,  and  every  of  us,  our  heirs,  and  every  of  them  forever,  unto 
them,  they,  their  heirs,  executors,  administrators  and  assigns  forever,  accord- 
ing to  the  tenure  of  East  Greenwich,  in  free  soccage,  and  not  in  capite  nor 
by  knight's  service. 

Also,  the  said  Ossamequin,  Wamsitta,  and  Tattapanum,  do  covenant  and 
grant  that  it  may  be  lawful  for  the  said  [grantees]  to  enter  the  said  deed  in 
the  Court  of  Plymouth,  or  in  any  other  court  of  record  provided  for  in  such 
case ;  in  and  for  the  true  performance  whereof,  Ossamequin,  Wamsitta  and 
Tattapanum  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals,  this  2d  day  of  April,  1659. 


(S.) 
WAMSITTA,  his  X  mark.  (S.) 

TATTAPANUM,  her  X  mark.     (S.) 

Signed,  sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of 

THOMAS   COOKE, 
JONATHAN  BRIGD, 
JOHN  SASSAMON. 

Ossamequin  never  signed  the  deed.  It  was  acknowledged  June  9,  1659, 
by  Wamsitta  and  the  Squaw  Tattapanum,  before  Josiah  Winslow  and  Wm. 
Bradford,  Assistants." — [Vide  Baylies'  History  of  Plymouth,  vol.  2d,  part  4, 
p.  67. 


APPENDIX.  61 


NOTE  D— PAGE  21. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  grand  deed  of  POCASSET — now  Tiverton  : 
"  To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  Josiah  Winslovy,  Esq.,  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Colony  of  New  Plymouth,  Major  Wm.  Bradford,  Treasurer  of 
the  said  Colony,  Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley  and  Major  James  Cudworth,  Assist- 
ants to  the  said  Governor,  send  Greeting ;  and  whereas  we,  the  said  Gov- 
ernor, Treasurer  and  Assistants,  or  any  two  of  us,  by  virtue  of  an  order  of  the 
General  Court  of  the  Colony  aforesaid,  bearing-  date  November,  A.  I).  1676, 
are  impowered  in  the  said  Colony's  behalf  to  make  sale  of  certain  lands  be- 
longing to  the  Colony  aforesaid,  and  to  make  and  seal  deeds  for  the  confir- 
mation of  the  same,  as  by  the  said  order  remaining  on  record  in  the  said 
Court  rolls  more  at  large  appeareth ;  now,  know  ye  that  we,  the  said  Gov- 
ernor, Treasurer  and  Assistants,  as  agents,  and  in  behalf  of  the  said  Colony, 
for  and  in  consideration  of  the  full  and  just  sum  of  one  thousand  and  one 
hundred  pounds  in  lawful  money  of  New  England,  to  us  in  hand,  before  the 
ensealing  and  delivering  of  these  presents,  well  and  truly  paid  by  Edward 
Gray,  of  Plymouth,  in  the  Colony  aforesaid ;  Nathaniel  Thomas,  of  Marsh- 
field,  in  the  Colony  aforesaid ;  Benjamin  Church,  of  Puncatest,  in  the  Colony 
aforesaid  ;  Christopher  Almy,  Job  Almy  and  Thomas  Waite,  of  Portsmouth, 
in  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations ;  Daniel  Wilcox, 
of  Puncatest,  and  William  Manchester,  of  Puncatest,  in  the  Colony  of  New. 
Plymouth  aforesaid,  with  which  the  said  sum,  we,  the  said  agents,  do  acknowl- 
edge to  be  fully  satisfied,  contented  and  paid,  and  thereof  do  acquit  and  dis- 
charge the  said  [grantees]  and  their  heirs,  executors,  administrators  and  as- 
signs forever  ;  by  these  presents  have  given,  granted,  bargained,  sold,  aliened, 
enfeoffed  and  confirmed ;  and  by  these  presents  for  us  and  the  said  Colony  of 
New  Plymouth,  do  freely,  fully  and  absolutely  give,  grant,  &C,  to  the  said 
[grantees]  all  those  lands  situate,  lying  and  being  at  Pocasset,  and  places  ad- 
jacent in  the  Colony  of  Plymouth  aforesaid,  and  is  bounded  as  followeth : — 
Northward  and  westward  by  the  Freemen's  lot,  near  the  Fall  River  ;  west- 
ward by  the  Bay  or  Sound  that  runneth  between  the  said  lands  and  Rhode 
Island ;  southward  partly  by  Seaconnet  bounds,  and  partly  by  Dartmouth 
bounds,  and  northward  and  eastward  up  into  the  woods  till  it  meets  with  the 
lands  formerly  granted  by  the  Court  to  other  men,  and  legally  obtained  by 
them  from  the  natives,  not  extending  further  than  Middlebury  town  bounds 
and  Quitquissit  ponds."  [Several  small  reservations  previously  sold  are  here 
named,  and  the  deed  proceeds  in  the  usual  form,  and  adds]  "  that  is  to  say, 
to  the  said  Edward  Gray  nine  shares  or  thirtieth  parts ;  to  the  said  Nathan- 
iel Thomas  five  shares  or  thirtieth  parts  ;  to  the  said  Benjamin  Church  one 
share  or  thirtieth  part ;  to  the  said  Christopher  Almy  three  shares  and  three- 
quarters  of  one  share ;  to  the  said  Job  Almy  three  shares  and  one-quarter  of 
a  share ;  to  the  said  Thomas  Waite  one  share ;  to  the  said  Daniel  Wilcox 
two  shares ;  to  the  said  William  Manchester  five  shares."  [The  rest  of  the 
deed  is  in  the  usual  form  of  a  warrantee  deed.] 

Signed,  sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  March   5, 
1779-80.  JOSIAH  WINSLOW,  Governor. 

WM.  BRADFORD,  Treasurer. 
THOMAS  HINCKLEY,  >  A    .  .     . 
JAMES  CUDWORTH,  \  Assistants- 
Acknowledged  March  6,  1679-80. 


62  APPENDIX. 


NOTE  E— PAGE  21. 


"  Nov.  1,  1700.  Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  whereas  we,  Josiah 
Winslow,  Robert  Durfee  and  Henry  Brightman,  being  chosen  agents  by  the 
proprietors  of  Freetown ;  and  Christopher  Almy,  Samuel  Little  and  Richard 
Borden,  being  chosen  agents  by  the  proprietors  of  Tiverton,  to  run  and 
settle  the  purchase  bounds  between  the  aforesaid  Freetown  and  Tiverton  ;  we 
have  accordingly  performed  the  same  as  followeth  :  beginning  at  a  cleft  rock 
on  the  East  side  of  the  country  road,  near  the  Fall  River,  said  rock  being 
the  bounds  of  the  Freemen's  first  lot ;  and  from  said  rock  ranging  Southwest 
and  by  West  to  the  river  at  the  westerly  side  of  the  country  road,  and  from 
thence  the  river  to  be  the  bounds  westerly  unto  Taunton  river ;  and  from 
the  aforesaid  rock,  ranging  East  Southeast  four  miles  into  the  woods  by  a 
range  of  marked  trees  unto  a  heap  of  stones  with  several  trees  marked  about 
it ;  and  from  said  heap  of  stones  ranging  Northeast  and  by  North  one  degree 
northerly  by  a  range  of  marked  trees  unto  a  stone  set  in  the  ground,  with 
other  stones  laid  about  it,  being  the  head  of  the  four  mile  line  from  Stacy's 
creek ;  said  range  to  extend  till  it  meet  with  Middlebury  town  bounds. 
These  aforementioned  boundaries,  thus  run  and  settled,  we  do  mutually  agree, 
shall  be  the  perpetual  bounds  between  the  land  of  the  aforesaid  proprietors 
of  Freetown  and  the  proprietors  of  Tiverton. 

In  witness  whereof,  we,  the  aforesaid  agents  have  hereunto  jointly  and  sev- 
erally set  our  hand  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

HENRY  BRIGHTMAN, 
Signed  and  delivered  in  presence  of  us.  ^  ROBERT  DURFEE, 

JACOB  SAMSON,  JOSIAH  WINSLOW, 

his  }>         RICHARD  BORDEN, 

SAMUEL  X!    SHERMAN.  CHRISTOPHER  ALMY, 

mark.  J  SAMUEL  LITTLE. 


NOTE  F— PAGE  23. 

A  few  words  are  necessary  to  explain,  what  is  to  be  understood  by  Old 
Style  and  New  Style. 

The  Julian  Calendar  proceeded  on  the  supposition  that  a  year  is  365  days 
and  6  hours ;  whereas  in  truth,  an  annual  revolution  of  the  sun  is  performed 
in  365  days,  5  hours,  48  minutes  and  45  1-2  seconds ;  so  that  the  Julian 
civil  year  was  too  long,  and  exceeded  the  solar  year  by  11  minutes  and  14  1-2 
seconds;  which,  in  about  130  years  amounted  to  one  dafc  Pope  Gregory 
XIII.  corrected  the  error,  in  1582.  The  time,  as  computed  by  the  Julian 
method  (which  is  called  Old  Style,)  had  then  advanced  ten  days  beyond  the 
true  time.  He  ordered  that  ten  days  should  be  suppressed,  and  that  thence- 
forth three  days  should  be  dropped  every  400  years,  which  would  be  nearly 
equivalent  to  one  day  in  130  years. 

The  year  under  the  Old  Style  began  the  25th  of  March  :  he  ordered  that 


APPENDIX.  63 


it  should  begin  the  1st  of  January.  This  new  reckoning  was  called  New 
Style.  It  was  not  adopted  in  England  and  this  country  till  1752,  when  the 
error  had  reached  eleven  days.  In  old  records,  deeds  and  other  papers,  we 
find,  between  1st  of  January  and  25th  of  March,  double  dates,  as  Jan.  17, 
1717-18,  which  means  1717  Old  Style,  and  1718  New  Style.  Another  per- 
plexity often  arises  from  not  recollecting  that  January  and  February  were 
the  latter  part  of  the  year.  For  instance,  a  distinguished  man,  who  died  a 
hundred  years  ago  in  February,  it  was  said  preached  an  ordination  sermon  in 
July  of  the  same  year,  which  was  true,  reckoning  according  to  Old  Style. 
Another  example :  King  George  III.  in  May,  1746,  ordered  Tiverton  to  be 
set  to  Rhode  Island,  and  the  Legislature  afterwards,  in  obedience  to  that  or- 
der, in  January  of  the  same  year,  incorporated  anew  the  town  of  Tiverton. 
The  act  of  incorporation  took  place  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1746,  Old 
Style,  or  the  beginning  of  the  year  1747,  New  Style.  The  practice  of  double 
dating  between  1st  of  January  and  25th  of  March,  was  dropped  after  1752. 


NOTE  G— PAGE  37. 

The  General  School  Committee  chosen  annually  by  the  town  of  Fall  River, 
and  the  sums  voted  to  be  raised  for  the  support  of  the  Public  Schools,  are  as 
follows : — 

1826 — Joseph  Hathaway,  James  Ford,  Jason  H.  Archer,  John  Lindsey, 
Wm.  B.  Canedy.     $600  voted. 

1827 — James  Ford,  Joseph  Hatha wav,  Jason  H.  Archer,  John  Lindsey, 
Wm.  B.  Canedy.     $1,288  voted. 

1828— Thos.  M.  Smith,  Arthur  A.  Ross,  Edward  T.  Taylor,  James  Ford, 
•  John  Eddy,     $  1,200  voted. 

1829 — James  Ford,  Thos.  M.  Smith,  Arthur  A.  Ross,  Hezekiah  Battelle, 
John  Eddy.     $1,200  voted. 

1830 — Thos.  M.  Smith,  Jason  H.  Archer,  Arnold  Buffum,  Foster  Hooper, 
Thomas  Wilbur.     $1,200  voted. 

1831— Foster  Hooper,  Thos.  M.  Smith,  Thomas  Wilbur,  Bradley  Miner, 
Leander  P.  Lovell.     $2,000  voted. 

1832 — Thomas  Wilbur,  Orin  Fowler,  Harvey  Chace,  Bradley  Miner,  Na- 
than Durfee.     $2,500  voted. 

1833— Orin  Fowler,  Harvey  Chace,  Nathan  Durfee,  Thomas  Wilbur, 
Harvey  Harnden,  James  Ford.     $3,000  voted. 

1834 — Orin  Fowler,  Asa  Bronson,  Harvey  Chace,  Philip  R.  Bennett, 
Thomas  Wilbur,  Nathan  Durfee.     $3,000  voted. 

1835 — Orin  Fowler,  Asa  Bronson,  Simon  Clough,  George  W.  Briggs, 
Nathan  Durfee,  James  Ford.     $3,500  voted. 

1836— David  Anthony,  James  Ford,  Harvey  Chace.     $3,500  voted. 

1837 — James  Ford,  Joseph  F.  Lindsey,  Benjamin  B.  Sisson,  George  W. 
Briggs,  Orin  Fowler.     $4,250  voted. 

1838— Joseph  F.  Lindsey,  James  Ford,  Benjamin  B.  Sisson,  Orin  Fowler, 
Eliab  Williams.     $4,000  voted. 

1839— Orin  Fowler,  Asa  Bronson,  James  Ford,  Eliab  Williams,  Joseph  F. 
Lindsey.     $4,500. 


64  APPENDIX. 


1840 — Orin  Fowler,  Asa  Bronson,  James  Ford,  Eliab  Williams,  Joseph  F. 
Lindsey,  Jonathan  S.  Thompson,  George  M.  Randall.     $4,500  voted. 

The  following  persons  have  held  the  office  of  Town  Clerk  of  the  town  of 
Fall  River  :— 

Walter  I).  Chaloner,  elected  1803  ;  Benjamin  Brightman,  1804  ;  Wm.  B. 
Canedy,  1814:  Nathaniel  Luther,  1816;  Joseph  E.  Read,  1817;  John  C. 
Borden,  1821;  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  1825;  Benjamin  Anthony,  1826; 
Stephen  K.  Crary,  1831;  Benjamin  Earl,  1836. 

The  following  persons  have  held  the  office  of  Selectmen  of  Fall  River  :— 

1803 — Thomas  Borden,  Benjamin  Durfee,  Robert  Miller. 

1S04 — Samuel  Thurston,  Benjamin  Durfee,  Robert  Miller. 

1805— Nathan  Bowen,  Pardon  Davol,  Elijah  Blossom,  Jr. 

1806 — Jonathan  Brownell,  Abraham  Bowen,  Elijah  Blossom,  Jr. 

1807 — Jonathan  Brownell,  Elijah  Blossom,  Stephen  Leonard. 

1808— Nathan  Bowen,  Henry  Brightman,  David  Wilson. 

1809— David  Wilson,  William  Read,  Jr.,  Charles  Durfee. 

1810— Charles  Durfee,  David  Wilson,  Wm.  Read,  Jr. 

1811— David  Wilson,  Wm.  Read,  Jr.,  Benjamin  Bennett,  2d. 

1812— Hezekiah  Wilson,  William  B.  Canedy,  William  Borden. 

1813 — William  B.  Canedy,  William  Borden,  Isaac  Winslow. 

1814 — William  Borden,  Benjamin  W.  Brown,  Simmons  Hathaway. 

1815 — Benjamin  W.  Brown,  ShefFel  Weaver,  Bradford  Durfee. 

1816—  ShefFel  Weaver,  William  Ashley,  William  Read. 

1817— ShefFel  Weaver,  Abraham  Bowen,  William  Ashley. 

1818 — '19 — Benjamin  W.  Brown,  Charles  Pitman,  James  G.  Bowen. 

1820 — ShefFel  Weaver,  Benjamin  W.  Brown,  Richard  Borden,  2d. 

1821-2 — Robert  Miller,  Charles  Pitman,  Enoch  French. 

1823 — Joseph  E.  Read,  Benjamin  W.  Brown,  Edmund  Chace. 

1824-'5-'6-'7— Enoch  French,  Hezekiah  Wilson,  William  Read. 

1828-9— Enoch  French,  ShefFel  Weaver,  William  Read. 

1830— Sheffel  Weaver,  John  Eddy,  William  Read. 

1831 — Samuel  Chace,  Robinson  Buffington,  William  Ashley. 

1832— Samuel  Chace,  Leonard  Garfield,  William  Ashley. 

1833— Samuel  Chace,  Matthew  C.  Durfee,  Elijah  Pierce. 

1834— Samuel  Chace,  Azariah  Shove,  Smith  Winslow. 

1835 '6-'7-'S— John  Eddy,  Israel  Anthony,  Luther  Winslow. 

1839— John  Eddy,  Israel  Anthony,  Russel  Hathaway. 
1840— Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Israel  Anthony,  William  Read. 


NOTE  H— PAGE  3S. 

The  number  of  children  in  the  town  of  Fall,  in  1840,  between  the  ages  of 
4  and  16,  is  in  District  No.  1,  291 ;  No.  2,  139  ;  No.  11,  603  ;  No.  12,  400 ; 
No.  14,  48;  total  in  the  village,  1,481.  District  No.  3,  32;  No.  4,  80; 
No.  5,  49;  No.  6,  26;  No.  7,  18;  No.  8,  31;  No.  9,  14;  No.  10,  13;  No. 
13,  45  ;  total  out  of  the  village,  308.     Total  in  the  town,  1,789. 


APPENDIX.  G5 


NOTE  I-PAGE  38. 

Since  Fall  River  was  incorporated,  in  1803,  there  have  been  thirteen  regu- 
lar practising  Physicians  in  this  town,  namely  : 

Doct.'s  John  Turner,*  Ashbel  Willard,t  Amery  Glazier,  Jason  H.  Archer, 
Thomas  Wilbur,  Nathan  Durfee,  Foster  Hooper,  Benjamin  B.  Sissont,Thos. 
T.  Wells,t  Amos  C.  Wilbur,  William  H.  A.  Crary,  Henry  Willard. 

There  have  been  ten  persons  practising  Law,  to  wit : 

Oakes  Anger,*  John  Lindsey,  George  B.  Holmes,*  James  Ford,  Joseph 
Hathawav,t  Hezekiah  Battelle,  Cvrus  Alden,  Eliab  Williams,  George  Paine,* 
William  J.  A.  Bradford.! 

The  following  persons  have  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  : 

George  Brightman,*  James  Brightman*,  Charles  Durfee,*  Joseph  E.  Read, 
William  B.  Oanedy,  Hezekiah  Wilson,  Cyrus  Alden,  James  Ford,  Hezekiah 
Battelle,  Joseph  Goodding,f  Eliab  Williams,  Israel  Anthony,  Benjamin  B. 
Sisson,t  Benjamin  Anthony,*  Joseph  Hathaway, f  Anthony  Mason,  David 
Anthony,  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  John  Fessenden.f 

Hon.  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  of  this  town,  was  a  member  of  the  24th  and  the 
25th  Congress ;  and  is  the  member  elect  of  the  27th  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  for  District  No.  10,  Mass. 

The  following  persons,  citizens  of  Fall  River,  have  been  members  of  the 
Senate  of  Massachusetts:  Hon.  Thomas  Durfee,  from  1781  to  1788;  Hon. 
John  Eddy  1838;  Hon.  Foster  Hooper  1840-'41. 

The  following  persons  have  been  Representatives  in  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts : 

1803 — Voted  not  to  elect.     104 — Abraham  Bowen. 

1805-'6— Jonathan  Brownell.     1807-'8— Abraham  Bowen. 

1809-'  10-'  1 1-'  12-'  13  -Robert  Miller. 

1814-'15— Joseph  E.  Read.     18 16-' 17— Hezekiah  Wilson. 

18 18-'19— Joseph  E.  Read.     1820— Voted  not  to  elect. 

1821— Abraham  Bowen.     1822— Robert  Miller. 

1823-'24— Wm.  B.  Canedy.  1825— James  Ford.  1826— Voted  not  to 
elect. 

1827— Joseph  Hathaway.     1828— Enoch  French. 

1829— Joseph  E.  Read,  Enoch  French,  Anthony  Mason. 

1830 — Frederick  Winslow,  Anthony  Mason,  Joseph  E.  Read. 

1831 — Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Foster  Hooper,  Frederick  Winslow. 

1832 — Simeon  Borden,  Azariah  Shove,  Anthony  Mason,  Barnabas  B]ossom. 

1833 — Simeon  Borden,  Azariah  Shove,  Smith  Winslowflsaac'BordenXEarl 
Chace.  ^ 

1834 — Nath'l  B.  Borden,  Micah  H.  Ruggles,  Anthony  Mason,  Jervis 
Shove,  William  Winslow. 

1835 — Micah  H.  Ruggles,  Anthony  Mason,  Philip  R.  Bennett,  Job  B. 
French,  Elijah  Peirce. 

1836 — Micah  H.  Ruggles,  Anthony  Mason,  Caleb  B.  Vickery,  Wm.  Ash- 
ley, Gilbert  H.  Durfee. 

♦Deceased.    {Removed  from  town. 
J 


66  APPENDIX. 


1837 — Micah  H.  Ruggles,  Cyrus  Alden,  John  Eddy,  Constant  B.  Wyatt, 
Richard  C.  French,  Philip  S.  Brown, 

1838 — Frederick  Winslow,  Benjamin  B,  Sisson,  Philip  S.  Brown,  Heze- 
kiah  Battelle. 

1539— Micah  H.  Ruggles,  Iram  Smith,  G.  Brightman,  2d,  John  A.  Harris. 

1840— John  Eddy,  Perez  Mason,  Nathan  Durfee,  Enoch  French. 

1841 — Nathan  Durfee,  Job  B.  French,  Lindon  Cook. 


NOTE  K— PAGE  40. 
The  petition  referred  to  on  page  40,  is  omitted  for  want  of  room. 


NOTE  L— PAGE  44. 

The  Rev.  Silas  Brett  had  eight  children,  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  to 
wit:  Olive,  born  1749;  Joshua  Howard,  1751;  Susannah,  1753;  Thankful, 
1755;  Silas,  1757;  Ebenezer,  1761  ;  Calvin,  1763;  Silas,  1767.  Joshua 
Howard  Brett  was  a  respectable  physician  ;  settled  first  at  Assonet ;  then  in 
Delaware  county,  New  York,  where  he  died  1822.  Calvin,  who  resides  at 
Easton,  is  the  only  one  of  the  above  now  living. 


NOTE  O-PAGE 


irwarjlfi  «ffl  |  If  ! 

I  feneration.  S ir-3  .  5"10!    15  «  °     ° 

H-lo'i  ItjiaS    s  °--S    a 

-Si*  l-s- i    *  Is  3 


•55- 


fa    ^-S 


"  ==     ~  =  "i  13  11  S     'g     0<!     5 

•;prl|'!ll  •§  II   i 


Great  Great      g  s'3  3°~  Jgg  "-    •«      g§      d 

Grand  .r^^'jj     S      „5     ,2 

Children        «To£^£'~'So     ■§      cz     ~ 


*Ruth  Durfee  and  six  sisters,  chil 


.-hildren,  great  grand  child. 


IffffJjllfJfflll 

«£?o     H^fcea*)     <Z      tea.    £ 


Third  Generation. 


Fourth  Generation. 


Fifth  Gen.    Sixth  Gen.      Seventh  Gen.    Eighth  Gen. 


FAMILY    OF 
THOMAS  DCKFEE,   }. 


James,  born  Aug.  28,  1701, 
Ann,  January  11, 1703, 
Hope,  January  7,  1705, 
William,  Dec.  5,  1707, 
Benjamin,  Jan.  5,  1709, 
Mary,  Jan.  30,  1711, 
I.usannah.  Jan.  28,  1713, 
Martha,  Julv  15,  1719, 
Hon.  Thomas,  Nov.  5, 1721, 


Diehard,  Nov.  9,  1723. 


f  Hope,  horn  September,  1748, 
I    Joseph,  April,  1750, 

Nathan,  April,  1752, 

Benjamin,  May,  1754, 
I    I'rudcn.-. .  September,  1756, 
I    Abigail,  August,  1759, 

Charles,  November,  1761. 

Lusannali,  November,  1764, 

Nathan,  1766, 

James,  1768, 

Thomas,  January,  1771, 

Samuel,  August,  1773, 

Ephraim, 
J    Sarah, 

*    Deacon  Richard, 
\,  Rebecca, 


Children.    Grand  Child. 


Thomas  Durfee,  the  first  of  the  name  in  this  region,  and,  (as  is  believed,)  the  ancestor  of  most  who  bear  his  name  in  this  vicinity,  lived  and  died  at 
Portsmouth,  Rhode  Island.  He  purchased,  in  lb'fO,  one-sixtieth  of  the  town  of  Tiverton,  of  William  Manchester,  one  of  the  eight  original  proprietors,  for 
.£34.  This  land  he  gave  to  his  son  Benjamin,  in  1712,  who  then  resided  near  the  spot  where  Dea.  Richard  Durfee,  his  grandson,  now  resides.  Benjamin 
Dnrfee  died  January  6, 1754,  aged  74.  His  wife  Prudence  died  March  11,  1733,  aged  52.  Hon.  Thomas  Durfee,  son  of  Benjamin,  was  much  in  public 
life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council  three  years;  of  the  Senate  seven  years;  and  of  the  House  of  Representatives  twenty  years;  in  all  thirty 
years  a  member  of  the  Council,  or  of  one  branch  of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts.  He  died  July,  1796,  aged  75.  His  wife  Patience,  (who  wai  the 
fourth  generation  from  John  Borden,)  was  born  August,  1731,  and  died  July,  1802,  aged  71. 

In  the  early  records  of  Freetown,  Robert  Durfee  is  repeatedly  mentioned.  He.  was  of  another  family,  and  his  descendants,  it  is  said,  removed  to  Mid- 
dleborough. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER.  67 


MASSACHUSETTS  AND   RHODE   ISLAND 

irantoriB  Question. 


After  a  controversy  between  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  of 
almost  two  hundred  years'  duration,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  has  made  a  final  decision  in  regard  to  the  respective 
boundaries  of  the  two  States.  As  the  citizens  of  Fall  River  have 
been  particularly  interested  in  this  subject,  from  their  connection 
with  it  in  1846,  and  as  the  decision  of  the  Court  will  very  materi- 
ally influence  the  future  of  our  city,  it  is  proposed  to  give  a  short, 
concise  account  of  the  leading  events  in  the  history  of  this  contro- 
versy,— more  particularly  of  such  as  had  reference  to  places  in  or 
near  Fall  River. 

In  November,  1620,  two  months  subsequent  to  the  sailing  of  the 
Mayflower,  James,  I.,  King  of  England,  by  a  charter  generally 
called  the  Great  Patent  or  Charter  of  New  England,  granted  to 
the  Plymouth  Company,  or  the  Council  at  Plymouth,  in  England, 
the  government  of  a  tract  of  country  in  America,  included  between 
the  40th  and  the  48th  degree  of  North  latitude,  and  between  the 
Atlantic  and  "Western"  Oceans  ;  this  tract  to  be  called  New  Eng- 
land. 

Our  Pilgrim  fathers,  the  pioneers  in  the  settlement  of  the  country 
thus  chartered,  formed  their  own  compact  of  self-government  in  No- 
vember, one  month  before  landing  at  Plymouth,  and  they  continued 
to  act  under  this  compact,  with  no  legal  right  to  the  country  in 
which  they  governed,  until  1629,  when  the  Council  at  Plymouth 
(Eng.)  granted  a  charter  to  William  Bradford  and  his  associates,  in 
which  the  boundaries  of  that  part  of  New  England  subsequently 
known  as  Plymouth  Colony,  were  defined.  One-half  of  the  waters 
mentioned  as  the  Narragansett  River,  formed  her  Western  limit.* 

*A11  the  territory  included  in  this  charter  was  purchased  of  the  Indians  by  the 
Colonists.  The  Mount  Hope  country,  (now  Bristol,)  afterwards  confirmed  to  the 
Colony  by  Charles  II.,  was  conquered  from  Philip  in  1667. 


68  HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER. 

No  proof  can  be  obtained  of  the  confirmation  of  this  charter  by  the 
Crown,  but  the  Colonists  were  recognized  as  a  government  by  the 
Kings  of  England,  and  continued  to  hold  and  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  the  territory  mentioned,  for  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
years. 

In  1643,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  and  others,  granted  to  Eoger 
Williams  the  first  charter  of  Ehode  Island.  This  charter  did  not 
conflict  with  the  claims  of  Plymouth  ;  but  in  1663,  Charles  II. 
granted  another  patent  to  the  citizens  of  Rhode  Island,  by  which 
some  parts  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  that  Colony  were  extended 
three  miles  to  the  east  and  northeast  of  Narragansett  Bay  ;  all  of 
which  territory  was  claimed  by  Plymouth. 

Plymouth  immediately  took  measures  to  secure  her  rights,  by  ap- 
plication to  King  Charles,  who  accordingly  appointed  commissioners 
in  1664.  These  commissioners  reported  in  favor  of  Plymouth,  and 
their  decision  was  confirmed  by  the  King.  From  this  time  until 
1746,  the  disputed  territory  was  governed  in  accordance  with  this 
decision — Plymouth  Colony  exercising  jurisdiction  over  the  tract 
granted  in  her  first  patent,  until  1691,  when,  by  a  charter  from 
William  and  Mary,  it  was  united  with  other  territories,  to  form  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts.  The  boundaries  remained  unchanged, 
and  for  the  following  fifty-five  years  it  was  under  the  government  of 
Massachusetts.  Thus  for  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years  the  bound- 
ary of  Plymouth,  as  established  by  her  original  charter  in  1629,  was 
recognized  and  confirmed  as  the  true  boundary  between  Massachu- 
setts and  Rhode  Island. 

In  1740,  however,  Rhode  Island  again  applied  to  the  Crown  for  a 
re-examination  of  her  eastern  boundary.  She  could  have  had  no 
other  encouragement  to  hope  for  a  successful  result  of  such  an  appli- 
cation, than  the  known  disposition  of  England  to  contract,  as  much 
as  possible,  both  the  territorial  and  civil  rights  of  Massachusetts, — 
a  disposition  which  had  just  been  shown  in  the  settlement  of  the 
boundary  between  that  province  and  New  Hampshire.  As  this  set- 
tlement gave  to  New  Hampshire  more  territory  than  she  claimed, 
Rhode  Island  had  reason  for  expecting  that  she  too  would  obtain 
some  advantage  by  again  agitating  this  question. 

In  response  to  the  application  of  Rhode  Island,  George  H.  ap- 
pointed fifteen  commissioners,  eight  of  whom  met  at  Providence  in 
1740,  and  there  examined  the  claims  of  both  parties.     After  a  ses- 


HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 


sion  of  nearly  three  months,  they  made  their  award,  which,  al- 
though favorable  to  Rhode  Island,  was  appealed  from  by  both  Prov- 
inces. This  award,  nevertheless,  was  confirmed  by  the  King  in 
174G.  By  this  decision  Little  Compton,  Tiverton,  Bristol,  Barring- 
ton,  Warren  and  Cumberland,  were  added  to  the  territory  of  Rhode 
Island.  For  marking  the  boundaries  thus  decided  upon,  commis- 
sioners were  to  be  appointed  by  Rhode  Island  and  Massachusetts, 
with  instructions  to  run  six  straight  lines  (each  extending  three  miles 
into  the  territory  formerly  claimed  by  Massachusetts,)  from  points 
mentioned  on  Providence  River  and  Narragansett  Bay ;  the  termi- 
nations of  these  six  lines  to  be  united  by  other  straight  lines,  which 
would  form  the  required  boundary. 

When  this  business  came  before  the  next  session  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts legislature,  it  was  found  that  Rhode  Island  had  already  ap- 
pointed commissioners,  who,  without  waiting  for  the  action  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, had  run  the  lines,  ex  parte.  Massachusetts  (supposing 
that  they  had,  as  they  professed  to  have  done,  marked  the  boundary 
in  accordance  with  the  decision  of  the  King,)  took  no  measures  for 
having  it  examined  until  1791,  when,  in  consequence  of  renewed 
difficulties,  she  appointed  commissioners,  who  were  empowered  to 
ascertain,  run  and  mark  (in  conjunction  with  similarly  appointed 
commissioners  from  Rhode  Island,)  the  boundary  between  the  two 
States,  in  accordance  with  the  directions  of  the  King  in  1746,  if  such 
directions  could  be  mutually  understood. 

Thjese  commissioners  proceeded  to  measure  the  lines  previously  run 
by  the  ex  parte  commissioners  of  Rhode  Island,  and  found  that  in 
every  case  they  infringed  upon  the  territory  of  Massachusetts,  from 
eight  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  rods.  There  was  also  a  disa- 
greement between  them  as  to  the  proper  point  of  commencing  the 
measurement  of  that  line  which  forms  the  southern  boundary  of  Fall 
River.  They  could  come  to  no  decision  in  regard  to  a  part  of  the 
boundary,  and  reported  thus  to  their  respective  legislatures. 

Again  in  1844,  six  commissioners  (three  from  each  State)  were  ap- 
pointed by  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  and  authorized  to  estab- 
lish the  true  boundary  line  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  Burnt  Swamp 
Corner.  Two  of  the  Massachusetts  commissioners  and  the  three 
from  Rhode  Island  came  to  the  same  conclusion  as  to  the  proper  line, 
and  their  report,  with  that  of  the  minority,  was  presented  to  the 
legislature  on  the  13th  of  January,  1848.     When  matters  had  pro- 


70  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

ceeded  thus  far,  and  the  question  which  had  been  agitated  for  two 
hundred  years  was  apparently  about  to  be  settled,  its  decision  was 
again  delayed. 

At  this  time  the  townsmen  of  Fall  River  appointed  Orin  Fowler, 
Foster  Hooper  and  Phineas  W.  Leland,  a  committee  to  petition  the 
Massachusetts  legislature  not  to  allow  any  settlement  of  the  bound- 
ary less  advantageous  than  that  granted  by  George  II.  in  1741. 
The  question  in  which  Fall  River  felt  particularly  interested,  was  in 
regard  to  the  proper  position  of  one  of  the  three  mile  lines,  which, 
as  run  by  the  ex  parte  commissioners  of  Rhode  Island,  passed  through 
the  town,  but  which  it  was  now  claimed  should  have  been  run  far- 
ther to  the  south.  The  facts  in  the  matter  were  as  follows : — In 
their  award  of  1741,  the  King's  commissioners  gave  special  direc- 
tions in  regard  to  the  points  from  which  measurements  were  to  be 
made  in  finding  and  marking  the  true  boundary.  These  directions 
all  subsequent  commissioners  professed  to  follow ;  but  the  petitioners 
of  Fall  River  claimed  that  they  had  not  done  so  in  respect  (among 
other  points)  to  one  mentioned  in  the  King's  award  as  "  a  certain 
point  four  hundred  and  forty  rods  to  the  southward  of  the  mouth  of 
Fall  River,"  from  which  a  line  was  to  be  run  three  miles  toward  the 
east,  forming  the  northern  boundary  of  that  part  of  Rhode  Island. 

In  measuring  this  440  rods,  the  ex  parte  commissioners  of  1746 
"measured  round  a  cove  or  inlet,  and  followed  the  sinuosities  of  the 
shore "  until  they  reached  a  point  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  mile 
farther  north  than  if  the  same  distance  had  been  measure^  in  a 
straight  line.  From  this  point  they  extended  the  three  mile  line, 
running  it  through  the  village  of  Fall  River,  and  the  boundary  thus 
established  had  siaoe  remained  unchanged. 

The  Fall  River  petitioners  claimed,  and  gave  reason  for  such 
claim,  that  George  II.,  in  his  decision  of  1746,  designed  that  the 
point  from  which  to  run  the  three  mile  line  should  be  440  rods  in  a 
direct  line  from  the  mouth  of  the  Fall  River.  They  showed  that  in 
making  these  measurements  as  they  had,  the  Rhode  Island  commis- 
sioners added  to  their  State  a  thickly  settled  territory,  with  about 
fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  and  a  taxable  property  valued  at  nearly 
half  a  million  of  dollars ;  when,  if  the  measurements  had  been 
made  in  straight  lines,  not  only  would  the  designs  of  George  II.  and 
his  commissioners  have  been  carried  out,  but  Fall  River  would  have 
been  brought  within  the  bounds  of  one  State,  with  no  danger  of  its 


HISTORY  OF  PALL   RIVER-  71 

thickly  settled  territory  being  again  placed   under  a  divided  jurisdic- 
tion. 

In  consequence  of  facts  and  arguments  presented  by  the  Fall 
River  petitioners,  the  Massachusetts  legislature  refused  to  ratify  the 
decision  of  their  commissioners.  Soon  after,  in  1852,  the  two  States 
filed  bills  of  equity,  thus  transferring  the  question  under  dispute  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  agreeing  to  conform  to  whatever  decision  it 
should  arrive  at. 

In  1860  the  Supreme  Court  appointed  engineers,  with  instructions 
to  measure  and  mark  a  described  line.  This  line  in  18G1  was  estab- 
lished by  the  decree  of  that  Court,  as  the  true  boundary  between 
the  two  States,  this  decree  to  take  effect  in  March,  18G2.  In  its 
decision,  the  Court  granted  the  full  claim  of  neither  State.  Not 
professing  to  run  the  line  in  accordance  with  the  decision  of  the 
King's  commissioners  of  1741,  it  placed  it  so  as  to  give,  as  far  as 
possible,  an  undivided  jurisdiction  to  densely  populated  districts — as 
Fall  River  and  Pawtucket, — without  infringing  upon  the  rights  of 
either  party. 

The  boundary,  as  marked,  passes  between  Fall  River  and  Tiver- 
ton, and  so  far  as  respects  the  present  boundary  of  the  City  of  Fall 
River,  is  described  as  "crossing  Mount  Hope  Bay  to  the  westerly 
end  of  the  line  dividing  Fall  River  and  Tiverton,  where  the  same 
intersects  low  water  line  of  said  Mount  Hope  Bay.  Thence  easterly, 
following  said  dividing  line  between  Fall  River  and  Tiverton,  pass- 
ing through  the  middle  of  a  town  way  on  the  north  side  of  a  farm 
belonging  to  John  Chase,  and  through  the  southerly  end  of  Cook 
Pond  to  a  line  passing  through  the  middle  of  a  highway  eight  rods 
wide.  Thence  running  southerly  through  the  centre  of  said  eight 
rod  highway,  to  a  point  in  line  with  the  stone  wall  on  the  northerly 
side  of  the  farm  of  Edmund  Estes.  This  wall  is  easterly  of  the 
Stafford  road,  so  called.  Thence  running  easterly  in  line  with  said 
wall  to  a  point  in  line  of  highest  water  mark  on  the  westerly  shore 
of  South  Watuppa  Pond.  Thence  southerly  by  line  of  highest 
water  mark  of  said  Watuppa  Pond  and  of  Sawdy  Pond  and  of  the 
streams  connecting  them  to  the  most  southerly  end  of  Sawdy  Pond, 
where  it  meets  the  line  of  the  westerly  side  of  the  Town  of  Westport. 

By  this  change  of  boundary,  Massachusetts  acquires  a  territory 
he  area  of  which  is  about  eleven  square  miles.  Of  this  about  nine 
square  miles,  with  a  population  of  3,593,  and  a  taxable  property 
of  $1,948,378,  are  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  City  of  Fall 
3iver. 


72  HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER. 


THE  GREAT   FIRE   OF   1843. 


Sunday,  July  2d,  1843,  will  always  be  referred  to  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  city,  as  a  day  on  which  occured  one  of  the  most  me- 
morable events  recorded  in  the  history  of  Fall  River.  It  furnishes 
a  date  from  which  incidents  are  often  reckoned,  and  "before  the 
fire"  and  " after  the  fire "  are  terms  well  understood  and  in  common 
use  among  the  people.  The  direct  influence  and  effect  of  that  event 
are  seen  and  felt  at  the  present  time.  The  fire-bell  never  strikes 
without  awakening  a  remembrance  of  the  disastrous  results  which 
once  followed  such  an  alarm  ;  and  whether  at  mid-day  or  mid-night, 
the  alarm  is  scarcely  sounded  before  our  firemen  are  at  their  posts, 
our  steam  and  hand  engines  in  working  order,  and  our  streets  filled 
with  anxious  and  interested  "lookers  on."  All  this  gives  to  our  cit- 
izens a  feeling  of  security  which  they  could  not  have  felt  on  that 
Sabbath  afternoon  when  they  were  called  from  their  places  of  wor- 
ship to  arrest  a  great  conflagration  with  a  comparatively  inefficient 
fire  department. 

During  a  part  of  the  day  on  which  the  fire  occurred,  the  mercury 
stood  at  90  ° .  Every  thing  was  dry  and  parched,  after  a  long 
drought ;  the  water  was  shut  off  from  the  stream,  that  labor  might 
be  performed  in  its  channel ;  and  a  high  wind  was  blowing  from  the 
southwest,  tending  greatly  to  facilitate  the  progress  of  the  flames. 
The  alarm  of  fire  was  given  at  about  4  o'clock  P.  M.  The  confla- 
gration commenced  near  the  corner  of  Main  and  Borden  streets,  in 
an  open  space  in  the  rear  of  a  large  three-story  warehouse  occupied 
by  Abner  L.  Westgate.  This  space  was  covered  with  shavings, 
which  were  kindled  from  the  firing  of  a  small  cannon  by  two  boys. 
The  fire  almost  instantly  communicated  with  the  surrounding  build- 
ings, and  within  five  minutes  the  flames  were  rising  apparently  fifty 
feet  high.  Showers  of  sparks  and  cinders,  carried  by  the  heavy 
wind,  kindled  many  buildings  before  they  were  reached  by  the  body 
of  the  fire. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    KIVEK.  73 

The  buildings  on  both  sides  of  Main  Street  were  soon  burning, 
and  tbe  wind  blowing  nearly  parallel  with  the  street,  all  hope  of  eon- 
trolling  the  flames  and  saving  the  business  part  of  the  village;,  was 
abandoned.  So  sudden  were  the  movements  of  the  flames,  unex- 
pectedly rising  in  different  localities,  that  in  many  cases  all  efforts  to 
preserve  property  were  ineffectual. 

The  whole  space  between  Main,  Franklin,  Rock  and  Borden 
streets  was  one  vast  sheet  of  fire,  entirely  beyond  the  control  of  man  ; 
and  had  not  the  foe  proved  the  ally,  the  destruction  would  have  con- 
tinued until  nearly  the  whole  village  was  in  ruins.  The  change  in 
the  direction  of  the  wind  was  all  that  checked  the  flames. 

Man  was  powerless,  and  could  only  helplessly  and  with  fear  view 
the  terrible  scene.  Awe  as  well  as  terror  must  have  influenced  the 
beholders,  when  to  the  crackling  flames,  the  crash  of  falling  timber, 
and  the  whistling  of  the  wind,  were  added  the  lightning's  flash  and 
the  thunder's  deep  roar.  They  looked  upon  their  village  in  ruins, 
and  felt  that  it  must  long  bear  the  marks  of  this  fearful  calamity. 
They  could  not  foresee  that  so  terrible  a  catastrophe  would  warm 
into  new  life  the  industrial  activities  of  the  place,  and  that  in  eleven 
years  Fall  River  would  be  numbered  among  the  cities  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. They  did  not  dream  that  in  ten  years  its  population 
would  be  increased  two-thirds,  and  its  taxable  property  doubled  ; 
and  that  in  twenty  years,  instead  of  running  but  thirty-two  thous- 
and spindles  in  its  representative  business,  almost  two  hundred  thou- 
sand would  be  employed  in  manufacturing  forty-five  millions  of  yards 
of  cloth. 

While  Dr.  Archer's  house,  on  the  southeast  comer  of  Main  and 
Franklin  streets,  was  burning,  the  wind,  which  had  been  blowing 
from  the  southwest,  suddenly  changed  to  the  northward,  driving 
back  the  flames  over  the  burnt  district.  The  house  of  H.  Battelle, 
Esq.,  on  Purchase  street,  was  the  last  building  burned,  and  the  only 
one  north  of  Franklin  street.  It  took  fire  at  about  ten  o'clock  F. 
M.  While  it  was  in  flames,  a  vessel  arrived  at  the  wharf  with  an 
engine  company  from  Bristol.  The  company  immediately  proceeded 
to  Purchase  street,  and  by  their  timely  efforts  saved  the  adjoining 
buildings  and  prevented  the  further  progress  of  the  flames. 

The  conflagration  had  swept  over  nearly  twenty  acres  of  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  village.  After  immediate  danger  was  passed,  the 
remaining  dwellings  were  thrown  open,  and  shelter  and  refreshment 


74  HISTORY    OF   FALL   PJVER. 

furnished  to  many  houseless  and  exhausted  people  ;  but  a  great  num- 
ber passed  the  night  in  the  open  air. 

Soon  after  the  fire,  a  committee  was  appointed,  with  instructions 
to  obtain  a  correct  list  of  those  who  had  suffered,  and  of  the 
amount  of  property  destroyed.  From  the  report  published  by  this 
committee,  it  appears  that  the 

"  No.  of  persons  residing  within  the  burnt  district  at 

the  time  of  the  fire,  was 1,324 

No.  of  persons  in  addition,  employed  or  doing  busi- 
ness in  the  burnt  district,  but  living  out,  about  600 

Buildings  burned, 291 

Hotels, 2 

Churches, 3 

Cotton  Factory, 1 

Carriage  Factories, . . . . , 2 

Banks, 2 

Cabinet  Warehouses, 3 

Marble  Factory, 1 

Tannery, 1 

Livery  Stables, 4 

Dry  Goods  Establishments, 17 

Clothing                  "              11 

Grocery  and  Provision  Establishments,   including 

three  or  four  Crockery  Stores  connected, 24 

Boot  and  Shoe  Stores, »  .  6 

Hat  and  Cap         "      3 

Book  and  Periodical  Stores, 3 

Hardware, 3 

Millinery  Shops, 11 

Mantua  Makers, 5 

Apothecaries, 6 

Jewelers, 3 

Harness  Makers, 3 

Stove  and  Tinware, 3 

Brass  Founderies, 2 

Blacksmith  Shops, 3 

Machine           "      2 

Carpenters'      "      8 

Reed  Makers'  "      1 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER,  75 


Shoe  Makers'  Shops, < 

Plane  Makers'  Shop, l 

Roll  Covers  "     ,•••• 

Turners, 


1 


Paint  Shops, 

Butchers'  Shops, 

Soap  Boiler  Shop, 

Cigar  Factory, 

Restaurateurs, * 

Bake  Houses, 

School  House, 

School  Rooms,  beside, 

Athenreum, 

Custom  House, 

Post  Office, 1 

Auction  Room, 

Counting  Rooms, ' 

Dentists'  Offices, 

Stage  Office, * 

Printing  Offices, 

Lawyers'       "     

Physicians'   "     

Barbers'  Shops, 

"  Whole  Amount  of  Loss  on  Buildings, $264,470 

a  «  "         Other  Property, .. .      262,015 


Total  Loss  on  both, $526,485 

Total  Insurance  on  Buildings, $102,955 

«  "  Other  Property, 74,020 

Whole  Amount  of  Insurance, $176,975 

Excess  of  Loss  over  Insurance, $349,5 10" 

The  day  after  the  fire,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  citizens 
to  afford  relief  to  those  who  had  suffered.  This  committee  entered 
immediately  upon  their  duties,  and  presented  a  circular  which  called 
forth  so  much  sympathy  and  was  so  liberally  responded  to,  that  we 
quote  it  entire. 

Note  —All  the  merchandize  shops  in  the  place  were  destroyed,  except  some  six 
or  eight,  (principally  groceries)  situated  in  the  extreme  parts  of  the  village. 


76  HISTORY    OP   FALL   RIVER. 

CIRCULAR. 

"  To  their  fellow-citizens,  near  and  remote,  both  in  town  and  coun- 
try, the  undersigned,  a  Committee  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  Fall 
River,  Mass.,  make  this  their  brief  appeal  for  help,  amid  the  appall- 
ing calamity  which,  under  the  wise  and  righteous  Providence  of  God, 
has  overtaken  us. 

Our  population,  from  8,000  to  9,000  souls,  and  chiefly  devoted  to 
manufacturing  and  mechanic  pursuits,  is  in  deep  distress — a  portion 
of  it  in  pressing  want. 

At  4  o'clock  P.  M.,  last  Sabbath,  the  2d  inst.,  a  fire  broke  out  in 
a  central  part  of  this  village,  (the  wind  blowing  a  gale)  which  in  its 
ravages  was  of  the  most  desolating  character. 

The  burnt  district  comprises  some  fifteen  or  twenty  acres  of  the 
centre  of  business  operations. 

Nearly  200  buildings  (not  including  many  small  ones)  are  con- 
sumed ;  among  which  are  three  newly  built  houses  of  public  wor- 
ship, and  all  our  public  offices.  Our  post  office  and  custom  house 
are  gone,  and  we  have  not  a  printing  office,  nor  hotel,  nor  bank 
building,  nor  book  store,  nor  market,  nor  bakery  left.  Nearly  all 
our  grocery  and  provision  stores,  including  one  wholesale  establish- 
ment, with  most  of  their  contents  ;  and  all  our  dry  goods,  druggist, 
tailor,  milliner,  tin  ware,  and  paint  shops,  with  one  cotton  factory, 
running  3,000  spindles,  are  gone. 

Nearly  200  families  are  turned  houseless,  and  many  of  them  pen- 
nyless  into  the  street. 

Besides,  this  appalling  fire  raged  with  such  fury,  and  spread  with 
such  velocity,  that  many  of  the  sufferers  gladly  escaped  with  their 
lives,  without  a  pillow  for  their  heads,  or  a  change  of  raiment  for 
their  backs.  The  amount  of  property  consumed  it  is  impossible  to 
estimate,  even  by  anything  like  a  probable  approximation. 

The  assessors  of  the  town,  in  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties, 
within  the  last  two  months,  have  rated  the  property  of  the  place  at 
three  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars — and  the  heart  of  the  village  is  in 
ashes. 

We  cannot,  we  need  not  enlarge. 

We  tell  you  in  few  words  the  simple,  sad  story  of  our  calamity  ; 
and  with  the  scene  of  desolation  before  us,  and  the  cries  of  distress 
around  us,  we  ask  your  aid  : — In  behalf  of  our  suffering  neighbors, 
and  in  the  name  of  humanity,  and  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  ap- 


HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER.  77 

peal  to  your  kindness  and  your  love,  and  solicit  your  assistance  ; 
not  to  repair  our  losses  and  rebuild  our  village,  but  to  relieve  our 
present  distress,  and  enable  us  to  give  bread  to  the  hungry,  clothing  to 
the  naked,  and  shelter  to  the  houseless  ;  until,  with  due  effort  on  the 
part  of  all  among  us,  a  merciful  and  righteous  God,  who  has  justly 
afflicted  us,  shall  command  the  hum  of  business,  the  smile  of  content- 
ment and  the  song  of  joy  to  return  to  our  now  desolate  borders. 
Send  us  what  you  can  send — food,  clothing,  money — send  it  ad- 
dressed to  either  of  us,  and  it  shall  be  carefully  distributed  to  the 
needy. 

N.  B. — Provisions  or  other  articles  by  the  way  of  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  may  be  sent  to  the  care  of  Capt.  Thomas  Borden,  of 
the  steamboat  King  Philip,  which  plies  daily  between  that  port  and 
ours. 

Jervis  Shove,  David  Anthony, 

Orin  Fowler,  Asa  Bronson, 

John  Eddy,  Richard  Borden, 

Jefferson  Borden,     William  Brown, 
Enoch  French,  Joseph  F.  Lindsey, 

Committee. 
Fall  River,  Mass.,  July  4th,  1843. 

Prompt  and  generous  donations  of  money,  clothing  and  food  were 
received  in  quantities  sufficient  to  prevent  immediate  suffering. 

From  Boston,  were  received $13,165  00 

"     Providence, 1,700  00 

"     New  Bedford, 1,700  00 

"     Cambridge, 1,000  00 

"     One  church  in  Charlestown,      .......      650  00 

"     Pawtucket  and  vicinity, 637  00 

"     The  churches  in  Newburyport, 600  00 

"    David  S.  Brown  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 250  00 

"    Bristol, , 208  00 

"     Dorchester, •    106  00 

"     Tiffany  Ward  &  Co.,  Baltimore, 100  00 

The   whole   amount  of  money  received  by  the  committee  was 

$50,934  00. 


78  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 


ECCLESIASTICAL   STATISTICS.* 


THE   FIRST    BAPTIST   CHURCH 

Of  Fall  River  was  organized  in  1781.  The  names  of  pastors  who 
have  officiated  since  1840,  are  as  follows  : — Rev.  Asa  Bronson  until 
1846.  Rev.  Velona  R,  Hotchkiss,  D.  D.,  from  1846  to  1850. 
Rev.  A.  P.  Mason,  D.  D.,  from  1850  to  1853.  Rev.  J.  R.  Scott 
from  1853  to  1854  ;  and  Rev.  P.  B.  Haughwout,  the  present  pastor, 
since  1855.  The  number  of  communicants  connected  with  the 
Church  in  1861,  was  323.  Number  of  pupils  connected  with  Sab- 
bath School,  275  ;  average  attendance  of  pupils,  176. 

In  this  connection,  mention  should  be  made  of  the  second  pastor 
of  the  Church,  Rev.  Job.  Borden.  One  of  his  successors  has  fur- 
nished the  following  sketch  : 

REV.    JOB    BORDEX. 

Among  that  noble  band  of  Baptist  ministers,  hard-handed  and 
stout-hearted,  to  whom  the  cause  of  evangelical  religion,  and  in  par- 
ticular, the  Baptist  representation  of  that  cause,  in  this  part  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  are  so  largely  indebted,  the  ven- 
erable Job  Borden  holds  an  honorable  and  eminent  place. 

He  was  a  man  of  vigorous  intellect ;  unusually  clear  in  his  per- 
ceptions, and  firm  in  his  convictions  ;  yet  void  of  narrow-minded- 
ness, and  possessed  of  a  generous  and  catholic  spirit ;  a  man  worthy 
to  be  classed  with  those  whose  earnest  faith  and  self-denying  labors 
have  won,  from  the  gratitude  and  affection  of  the  church,  the  title  of 
"  Fathers  in  Israel." 

In  his  early  manhood,  and  before  he  assumed  the  office  of  a  christian 
minister,  he  was  afflicted  with  the  total  loss  of  his  eye-sight.  And 
thenceforward,  through  his  long  and  unusually  active  life,  in  all  that 
he  accomplished,  his  efforts  were  subject  to  the  painful  drawback 
and  hindrance  of  this  grievous  calamity.     Deprived  of  those  advan- 

*For  statistics  previous  to  1840,  see  pp.  45-56. 


HISTORY   OF   FALL   RIVER.  70 


tages  which  our  schools  and  colleges  confer  ;  shut  out,  by  his  blind- 
ness, from  the  ordinary  sources  of  knowledge,  save  as  they  were 
opened  to  him  by  the  kindness  of  those  around  him;  compelled  by 
his  circumstances  to  depend  mainly  upon  the  labor  of  his  own  hands 
for  the  support  of  his  family  ;  required,  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
time,  and  the  feeble  and  widely  scattered  membership  of  the  church, 
to  travel  from  place  to  place,  and  visit  from  house  to  house,  preach- 
ing at  all  seasons  and  as  opportunities  arose  ;  it  is  surprising  to  us 
that  he  contrived,  in  the  face  of  so  many  obstacles,  and  under  such 
discouraging  embarrassments,  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  a  readiness  and  expertness  in  the  use  of  it,  which  were 
deemed  remarkable  by  his  cotemporaries,  and  which,  together  with 
the  natural  force  and  quickness  of  his  mind,  called  forth  the  homely 
but  honest  encomium  of  the  historian  Bacchus  : — "  He  is  blind,  in- 
deed, as  to  natural  sight,  but  he  hath  such  spiritual  light  as  to  be 
esteemed  a  clear  preacher  of  the  gospel." 

There  are  are  some  among  us  who  still  recall  the  figure  of  this  de- 
voted and  laborious  servant  of  Christ,  as  he  went  about  in  his  later 
years,  riding  upon  his  old  white  horse,  which,  like  John  Wesley's 
famous  itinerant,  had  learned  to  travel,  with  unerring  sagacity,  all 
the  rounds  of  his  master. 

Father  Borden  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Free- 
town, and  continued  in  that  office  for  forty-two  years.  And  although 
his  decaying  strength,  and  the  weight  of  his  many  years,  made  it 
necessary  that  the  church  should  summon  the  aid  of  other  and 
younger  pastors,  yet  nothing  was  done  to  break  or  impair  his  tenure 
of  office  ;  and  he  remained  as  a  Pastor  Emeritus,  and  prolonged  the 
labors  of  his  earlier  years  until  God  called  him  to  his  reward.  He 
was  twice  married,  and  his  widow,  who  was  a  school-teacher  at  the 
time  of  her  marriage,  and  who  seems  to  have  devoted  herself  to  her 
husband,  and  labored  to  compensate  for  his  great  misfortune,  in 
an  unusual  degree,  is  still  living,  in  a  green  old  age,  among  the  chil- 
dren of  those  who  listened  with  her  to  the  sound  doctrine  and  per- 
suasive counsel  of  her  husband.* 

*A  very  good  portrait  of  Father  Borden,  the  generous  gift  of  his  widow,  hangs 
upon  the  walls  of  the  Committee-room,  in  the  First  Baptist  Church.  The  remains 
of  father  Borden,  with  those  of  his  first  wife,  repose  in  a  small  grave-yard  near  the 
"Narrows,"  on  the  site  of  the  first  house  of  worship  erected  by  the  church. 


80  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 


THE    FIRST   CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH 

Was  organized  January  9,  1816.  The  names  of  those  who  have 
been  pastors  subsequent  to  1840,  are,  Rev.  Orin  Fowler,  dismissed 
in  May,  1850.  Eev.  Benjamin  Relyea,  installed  in  May,  1850,  dis- 
missed in  April,  1856.  Rev.  J.  Lewis  Diman,  ordained  in  Decem- 
ber, 1856,  dismissed  in  February,  1860.  Rev.  Solomon  P.  Fay, 
the  present  pastor,  installed  in  May,  1861.  The  membership  of  the 
church  in  1861,  was  204.  Number  of  pupils  connected  with  the 
Sabbath  School,  250.     Average  attendance  of  pupils,  150. 

A    SOCIETY    OF   FRIENDS 

Was  organized  about  the  year  1817.  In  1844,  a  division  took 
place  among  the  members.  A  part  removed  to  their  meeting  house 
on  Franklin  street,  and  the  others  continued  to  worship  in  their 
building  on  Main  street.  The  former  have  no  regularly  appointed 
minister.  In  1861,  they  numbered  70  members.  The  Society 
which  worships  on  Main  street,  had  in  1861,  115  members.  The 
number  of  scholars  connected  with  their  Sabbath  School  is  45  ;  ave- 
rage attendance,  32. 

THE   FIRST   METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

Was  organized  in  June,  1827.  The  names  of  pastors  who  have 
officiated  since  1840  are  given,  with  date  of  their  ordination : — 
1840,  Rev.  Isaac  Bonney  ;  1842,  Rev.  Thomas  Ely;  1844,  Rev. 
George  F.  Pool;  1845,  Rev.  James  D.  Butler;  1847,  Rev.  David 
Patten;  1849,  Rev.  Daniel  Wise;  1851,  Rev.  Frederic  Upham ; 
1853,  Rev.  Elisha  B.  Bradford;  1855,  Rev.  John  Howson  ;  1857, 
Rev.  Thomas  Ely  ;  1859,  Rev.  Andrew  McKeown  ;  1861,  Rev. 
Chas.  H.  Payne,  the  present  pastor.  The  membership  of  the  church 
in  1861,  was  252.  Number  of  pupils  connected  with  Sabbath 
School,  450 ;  average  attendance,  280. 

THE   FIRST   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH 

Was  organized  in  the  year  1829.  The  names  of  pastors  who  have 
been  installed  since  1840,  are :  Rev.  P.  R.  Russell,  installed  Jan- 
uary, 1841.  Rev.  A.  M.  Averill,  March,  1843.  Rev.  Elijah  Shaw, 
March,  1 845 .     Rev.  Charles  Morgridge,  •  April,  1 847.     Rev.  Stephen 


HISTORY   OF    FALL   JiiVEK.  81 

Fellows,  June,  1848.  Rev.  David  E.  Millard  supplied  the  pulpit 
six  months.  Rev.  B.  8.  Fanton,  January,  1853.  Rev.  Warren 
Hathaway,  installed  March,  1855  ;  dismissed  October,  18G0.  There 
has  been  no  settled  pastor  since  18G0.  The  membership  of  the 
Church  in  1861,  was  280.  Increase  of  membership  since  1840, 
259.  Number  of  scholars  connected  with  Sabbath  School,  215  ; 
average  attendance,  151. 

THE   FIRST   UNITARIAN    CHURCH 

Was  organized  in  1832.  The  names  of  pastors  who  have  been  or- 
dained since  1840,  are :  Rev.  John  F.  W.  Ware,  ordained  in  May, 
1843.  Rev.  Samuel  Longfellow,  in  February,  1848.  Rev.  Josiah 
K.  Waite,  in  September,  1852.  Rev.  W.  13.  Smith,  the  present 
pastor,  January,  1860.  The  number  of  communicants  connected 
with  the  Church  in  1861,  was  50.  The  number  of  families  con- 
nected with  the  Society  is  126.  Number  of  pupils  connected  with 
Sabbath  School  is  173;  average  attendance,  110.  In  1860,  the 
church  located  on  Second  street  was  taken  down,  and  a  portion  of 
the  old  materials  used  in  the  erection  of  the  present  house  of  wor- 
ship, on  North  Main  street. 

THE   CHURCH    OF   THE    ASCENSION 

Was  organized  in  1836.  The  Rev.  George  M.  Randall  entered  upon 
his  duties  as  pastor,  July,  1838,  but  was  not  installed  rector  until 
1840.  The  Rev.  Amos  D.  McCoy  succeeded  him  in  1845,  and  re- 
mained a  little  over  two  years.  In  1849,  the  present  incumbent, 
Rev.  E.  M.  Porter,  entered  upon  his  duties  as  rector.  The  number 
of  communicants  connected  with  the  Church  in  1861,  was  112. 
Number  of  Scholars  connected  with  Sabbath  School,  about  300  ; 
average  attendance,  208. 

In  1850,  the  Society  suffered  a  severe  loss  in  the  destruction  of  its 
church  edifice  by  fire  ;  but  after  more  than  a  year  of  exertions  on 
the  part  of  the  parish,  and  with  assistance  from  abroad,  they  were 
enabled  to  erect  the  small  but  tasteful  structure  in  which  they  now 
worship. 

SAINT   MARY'S    CHURCH, 

(Roman  Catholic,) 

Was  established  in  183G.     The  first  name  was  St.  John  Baptist, 

which  was  changed  upon   the  occupation  of  their  new  cathedral  in 


82  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

1855.  The  corner  stone  of  this  cathedral  was  laid  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Fitzpatric,  Bishop  of  Boston,  August  8,  1852.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  structure  are  67  feet  by  150.  It  is  built  in  the  Gothic 
style,  and  of  uncut  granite.  The  first  pastor  of  the  church  was 
Rev.  John  Corry  ;  second  pastor,  Rev.  Richard  Hardy  ;  third  pas- 
tor, the  present  incumbent,  Rev.  E.  Murphy,  appointed  April,  1840. 

THE    CENTRAL    CHURCH, 

(  Congregational, ) 

Was  organized  November  16,  1843.  Rev.  Samuel  Washburn,  the 
first  pastor,  was  installed  April  24,  1844,  and  dismissed  January  2, 
1849.     Rev.  Eli  Thurston,   the  present  pastor,  was  installed  March 

21,  1849.  The  whole  number  received  into  the  church  since  its  or- 
ganization is  396,  of  whom  195  were  received  upon  profession. 
There  have  been  dismissed  to  other  churches  96,  52  have  died,  a 
number  have  been  excommunicated,  leaving  232  as  the  present  mem- 
bership. The  number  of  scholars  in  the  Sabbath  School  is  260. 
Average  attendance  173. 

THE    SECOND    BAPTIST   CHURCH, 

Worshipping  in  the  Baptist  Temple  on  South  Main  street,  was  or- 
ganized in  June,  1846  by  157  persons,  mostly  from  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church  in  this  city.  Rev.  Asa  Bronson  was  the  first  pastor,  and 
remained  in  this  office  until  October,  1857. 

Revivals  of  religion  have  signally  marked  the  history  of  this  church. 
The  aggregate  increase  during  the  fifteen  years  of  its  history  has 
been  433,  of  which  about  300  have  been  by  baptism.  The  decrease 
in  the  same  period  has  been  281.  The  present  number  is  309.  The 
Sabbath  School  numbers  350,  with  an  average  attendance,  the  past 
year,  of  245. 

Rev.  Charles  Snow,  the  present  pastor  of  this  church,  was  or- 
dained and  installed  July  7,  1858. 

THE   UNITED   PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 

Was  organized  in  1846.     The  number  of  members  at  that  time  was 

22.  For  five  years  after  the  organization  there  was  no  stated  pas- 
tor, and  only  occasional  religious  service.  The  first  pastor,  Rev. 
David  A.  Wallace,  was  installed  June,  1851  ;  the  second,  and  pres- 
ent pastor,  Rev.  William  Maclaren,  in  November,  1854. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER. 


83 


According  to  the  last  annual  report,  dated  May,  18G1,  the  num- 
ber of  church  members  was  140,  and  the  number  of  families,  110. 
The  whole  congregation  numbers  about  400.  The  number  of  schol- 
ars connected  with  the  Sabbath  School  is  150. 

The  place  of  worship  on  Pearl  street  was  purchased  by  the  Soci- 
ety in  1849.  Aided  efficiently  by  the  influence  and  efforts  of  their 
present  pastor,  they  completed  the  payment  of  the  church  debt  in 
June  1861,  and  they  now  own  their  commodious  aud  substantial 
church  edifice  and  the  ground  connected  with  it,  free  of  all  incum- 
brance. 

ST.    PAUL'S    METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

Was  organized  April  20,  1851.  The  names  of  its  pastors  since  that 
time,  with  date  of  their  installation,  are :— 1851,  Rev.  Daniel  Wise  j 
1853,  Rev.  John  Hobart  ;  1855,  Rev.  M.  J.  Talbot ;  1857,  Rev. 
Samuel  C.  Brown;  1859,  Rev.  J.  B.  Gould;  1861,  Rev.  J.  A. 
M.  Chapman,  the  present  pastor.  The  membership  of  the  church 
in  1861  was  220,  being  an  increase  since  1851  of  120.  Number  of 
,  scholars  connected  with  the  Sabbath  School,  270  ;  average  attend- 
ance, 225. 

CHRIST'S    CHURCH, 

At  Globe  Village,  was  organized  in  1849,  and  its  house  of  worship 
dedicated  in  1850.  There  were  no  pastors  installed.  Rev.  S.  S. 
Ashly,  Rev.  Mr.  Harmon  and  Rev.  Mr.  Cummins,  supplying  the 
pulpit  until  1854,  when  the  church  was  disbanded,  and  their  house 
purchased  by  the  Rev.  David  Patten,  for  the  use  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

THE    METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

Was  organized  in  the  autumn  of  1854.  The  names  of  pastors  who 
have  been  connected  with  it  since  that  time,  are,  Rev.  A.  H.  Worth- 
ing; Rev.  C  A.  Merrill;  Rev.  A.  U.  Swinerton;  Rev.  Elihu  Grant, 
the  present  pastor.  The  membership  of  the  church  in  1861  was  34. 
Average  attendance  at  the  Sabbath  School,  150. 

THE    CHURCH    OF   THE   NEW    JERUSALEM 

Was  organized  in  November,  1854,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Worcester, 
of  Boston.     It  then  consisted  of  seven  members.     The  present  num- 


84  HISTORY    OP    FALL   RIVER. 

ber  is  thirteen.  It  has  no  pastor,  but  its  services  are  conducted  by 
a  leader,  who  is  annually  elected  by  the  Society.  It  has  ministerial 
services  four  times  a  year,  usually,  and  sometimes  oftener. 

The  average  attendance  at  its  meetings  is  between  30  and  40 
persons.  The  average  attendance  at  the  Sabbath  School  is  26.  The 
meetings  are  held  in  the  room  formerly  occupied  by  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  on  Main  street. 

Mr.  John  Westall  has  been  the  leader  and  conductor  of  the  ser- 
vices in  this  church,  from  its  organization  to  the  present  time. 


According  to  these  statistics  the  total  number  of  communicants 
connected  with  the  various  churches  is  2,341,  and  the  total  number 
of  pupils  in  Sabbath  Schools,  2,918. 


MISSION     SCHOOLS 


In  1816  our  town  was  a  vineyard  of  the  Massachusetts  Home 
Missionary  Society,  into  which  she  sent  laborers,  to  toil  and  sow  the 
seed  of  christian  doctrine  and  teaching.  The  seed  soon  sprung  up, 
and  under  the  culture  of  the  vine-dressers,  the  dews  of  the  spirit,  and 
the  showers  of  grace,  became  a  strong  and  spreading  vine,  shedding 
the  sweet  fragrance  of  Christianity  here  and  there,  and  gladdening 
the  hearts  of  the  laborers  with  large  clusters  of  heavenly  fruit. 

Many  churches  were  subsequently  established  here,  strong  in  the 
faith  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  which,  in  their  turn,  send  forth  men  and 
money  for  the  culture  of  other  vineyards. 

From  time  to  time  branches  of  domestic  missionary  effort  have 
been  shooting  out  from  this  vine.  Perhaps  the  one  most  worthy  of 
notice  was  that  which  appeared  in  the  spring  of  1853,  called,  "The 
Fall  River  Domestic  Missionary  Society. "  This  Society  had  for  its 
object  "the  diffusion  of  religious  knowledge  among  the  destitute  in 
Fall  River  and  vicinity,  by  the  employment  of  one  or  more  mission- 
aries to  labor  from  house  to  house,  and  by  the  distribution  of  Bibles, 
Tracts,  and  religious  books."     It  chose  for  its  missionary  Mr.  Thomas 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER.  85 

Boardman,  who  labored  under  its  patronage  with  devotion  and  ac- 
ceptance, about  four  years  and  a  half. 

This  effort  in  the  form  of  a  Society  continued  five  years.  Rich- 
ard Borden,  Benjamin  Earl,  Elihu  Grant,  and  Jeremiah  Young, 
acted  successively  as  Presidents. 

A  Ladies'  Society  was  formed,  auxiliary  to  this,  in  the  summer  of 
1853,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  clothing  for  Sabbath  School  chil- 
dren. It  continued  in  existence  nearly  six  years,  and  gave  out  hun- 
dreds of  garments  to  destitute  children.  Under  the  auspices  of  these 
societies,  and  the  labors  of  the  missionary,  three  Sabbath  Schools 
were' sustained.  One  which  had  been  commenced  in  the  summer  of 
1851,  by  two  or  three  ladies  in  a  private  room,  and  afterwards  trans- 
ferred to  the  vestry  of  the  Central  Church,  was  organized  as  a  Union 
School.  Two  others  were  commenced — one  in  the  south-west  part 
of  the  town,  and  one  at  New  Boston.  These  schools  continued  their 
operations  after  the  societies  were  dissolved. 

In  connection  with  the  first  mentioned  school  a  Sabbath  School 
Society  was  organized  May  28th,  1854,  called,  "The  Fall  River  Mis- 
sion Sabbath  School  Society,"  which  controls  its  affairs.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  May  28,  1860,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  relieve  the 
school  from  embarrassment  in  regard  to  a  place  for  holding  its  ses- 
sions, and  authorized  to  provide  a  place  free  of  expense  to  the  Society. 

Through  the  benevolent  assistance  of  the  friends  of  the  school, 
they  offered  to  the  Society  the  use  of  the  chapel  on  Pleasant  street, 
which  they  entered  February,  1861. 

In  June,  1859,  the  First  Baptist  Church  assumed  the  care  of  the 
school  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  city,  and  a  chapel  was  built  on 
Spring  street,  for  its  use,  which  they  entered  in  June,  1861.  At 
the  present  time,  1862,  there  are  connected  with  the  several  schools 
as  follows : 
Fall  River  Mission  Sabbath  School,  Pleasant  street  Chapel ; 

Superintendents  and  teachers,  41  ;   scholars,  438. 
First  Baptist  Mission  Sabbath  School,  Spring  street  Chapel ; 

Superintendents  and  teachers,  22  ;  scholars,  167. 
New  Boston  Mission  Sabbath  School ; 

Superintendents  and  teachers,  12  ;  scholars,  90. 
Three  other  Mission  Schools  sustained  in  suburbs  of  the  city  ; 

Superintendents  and  teachers,  20  ;  scholars,  150. 
Total — Superintendents  and  teachers,  95  ;  scholars  845. 


86 


HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER. 


MANUFACTORIES.  —COTTON   MILLS. 


The  following  statistics  show,  as  nearly  as  can  be  obtained,  the 
present  extent  of  the  cotton  business  in  this  city  : 


©©    o  o  ooooo 

oo    o  o  ooooo 

©  ©.  o,  ©„  ©.©,©.©.©. 

cTo"  ©*~  ©~  ©"us  omo 

OU5     ©  ©  (Nt-ONOO 

MH     OO  H  rH 


Of 


suosaad  jo  *o^[ 


•paan^oBjnuBiu 
moio  jo  spiBJt 


•umuire  aad 
pasu  1101303  s8[Bg 


OOSNOiOOIiOOOCIO 
W*atDMHO)t»iOOOO 
(N  tH  CO  CN  iH  CO  rH  tH 


OOOOOOOOOOO 

ooooooooooo 

©©^©©^OO^OO^O^iD©^ 

do''d'dlo''o''do''o'o''o', 

OOOOl^iOOOOOO 

wojoc?  ©©!«©©,">*  ©„«©, 
oTcCeo^*  r-T  aToo  eft-'  -^Tr-T 


©10©©UO©©©©0© 

OIlOOflOOOONO 

©^-  ©_eo^©  eoiocso.eo^eo 

■dT       CO*"  r-T       cfiH"r-Tco"r-r 


•suxooi  jo  -o^ 


•ssipuidg  jo  -ox 


G0Ci-#©C0©O©©00C0 
00ON(NffiOK5OOO© 
COC^CO^r-t^COeOt^COT-l 


©  ©  CO  ©  -H  CO  GO 

CO'*  -5  ©©©•** 

b-  <N  ©  <M  i~-  CO  "* 


,H  — I  m  © 


•AuuduiOQ  jo  uoq 
•BaodaoDui  jo  d%V(j 


(J 

o 

J 

S 

a 

si 

& 

§ 

o 

c 

-a  h 

fc3 

es 

>*£   "^ 

< 

«2 

fc 

a  c 

«    =3 

§2 

o  £►"£ 

^ffi  a 

r-l  <M      <N      (M        -*• 
CO  CO     CO     CO         CO  i 


O 

O 
S3  bOu? 

all 

53 


3§.S    5 


t«SJS 


3 


g"a  o  a  c  <u  escr  a  a  o 


s- 
O 

o 

"o 

o 

fa 

£ 

w 

0 

,£) 

a 

o 

■"* 

ri 

3 

+3 

CO 

r-t 

a 

-a 

a 

.a 

a 

3 

fa 

..* 

g 

a 

rt 

a- 

S 

fa 

'a 

0> 

a 

0> 

£ 
o 
O 

OP 

on 

oS 

E 

c 

fa 

3 

CO 

a 

&►> 

a> 

bC 

a 

cS 
fa 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

s 

SB 

o 
O 

o 

T2 

a 

DO 

c3 

oj 

CO 

£ 

fa 

o 

co 

a 

o 

£ 

fa 

«" 

o 

+a 

O 
o 

Si 

_>^ 

O 

> 

r* 

a 
o 

Cm 
O 

B 

a 

fa 

^ 

O 

ia 

a 

.a 

M 

a> 

rt 

a 

fa 
u 

> 

2 

_2 

3 

a 
3 

oS 

a 
o 

■5" 

o 

fa 

g 
g 

as 

fa 

u 

a 

i 

o 

oS 

fa 

r>r. 

a 

-J 
a 
a 
3 
a 

a 
3 

£ 

0) 

as 
o 

§3 

In 

a 
<o 
bfl 

a 

9*j 

* 

0> 

<o 

a 
o 

as 

9 

a 

,3 

o 

CO        * 

d 

Ej 

oS 

fcD     2 

fa 

3 

© 

s 

n,  * 

„ 

0) 

3 

© 

5 

o 

<u       •« 

a 

,d 

o 

0) 

© 
© 
© 

H 

xn     EH 

4H-        «^» 

c 

HISTORY    ok    KALI.    RIVEB.  87 

In  1812  there  were  in  Massachusetts  but  twenty  cotton  mills,  with 
17,371  spindles.     In  1818  the  first  mill  built  in  Fall  River  (see  page 

31)  commenced  operations  with  890  spindles. 

In  1840  there  were  eight  mills,  with  32,084  Bpindles,  and  1,042 
looms,  (page  32). 

THE    AMERICAN    LINEN    COMPANY. 

The  American  Linen  Company  was  established  in  1852,  with  :i 
capital  of  $350,000,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing,  on  a  large 
scale,  the  finer  linen  fabrics.  They  erected  buildings  of  stone— a 
factory  300  feet  by  63,  four  stories  high,  with  store  and  heckling 
house  150  feet  by  48  ;  a  bleach  house  176  feet  by  75,  and  a  finish- 
ing building  176  feet  by  45,  three  stories  high,  with  10,500  spindles 
and  300  looms. 

In  the  spring  of  1853,  they  sent  their  first  productions  into  the 
market.  These  consisted  of  blay  linens,  coating  and  pantaloon 
linen,  sheetings,  pillow  and  table  linen,  hucabuc  and  damask  towel- 
ing, crash  and  diaper,  which  were  highly  approved  by  the  trade. 
But  before  the  mill  was  in  full  operation,  the  demand  for  such  goods 
as  the  Company  proposed  to  manufacture  almost  entirely  ceased,  for 
the  reason  that  cotton  and  thin  woolen  fabrics  were  very  generally 
substituted  for  linen  goods.  On  this  account  it  was  determined,  in 
the  year  1858,  to  remove  the  machinery  from  the  main  mill  into  the 
outer  buildings,  and  substitute  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  printing  cloths.  Another  story  was  added  to  the  mill,  and 
31,500  spindles,  and  700  looms  were  set  up. 

The  Company  still  retain,  of  their  linen  machinery,  3,500  spin- 
dles and  150  looms,  which  consume  400  tons  of  flax  per  year,  and 
produce  1,500,000  yards  of  hucabuc,  toweling,  crash  and  diaper, 
and  give  employment  to  200  operatives. 

THREAD    MILLS. 

A  Thread  Mill  was  established  in  1838,  by  Oliver  Chace.  It  was 
sold  to  the  present  proprietor,  Benjamin  A.  Chace,  in  January,  1862. 
The  capital  employed  is  $125,000.  Number  of  operatives  in  the 
mill,  200.  Number  of  spindles,  7,000.  Nine  hundred  pounds  of 
cotton  are  used,  and  800  pounds  of  thread  manufactured  per  day. 
The  works  are  driven  by  one  water  wheel  and  two  steam  engines. 


88  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 

J.  M.  Davis'  Thread  Mill  is  situated  in  what  was  formerly  Fall 
River,  R.  I.  In  this  mill  the  thread  is  spooled,  but  not  manufac- 
tured. 

WAMSUTTA    STEAM   WOOLEN   MILL. 

Began  the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods  in  1849.  The  mill  con- 
tains six  cards,  with  thirty-six  looms,  manufacturing  150,000  yards 
of  fancy  cassimeres  per  annum,  from  150,000  lbs.  of  wool.  The 
number  of  persons  employed  is  about  100.  The  machinery  is  driven 
by  an  engine  of  sixty  horse  power. 


I.  Buffinton  &  Son  are  owners  of  a  Cotton  Batt  Manufactory,  at 
Sucker  Brook.     They  use  about  1,500  bales  of  cotton  per  year. 


Augustus  Chace  is  proprietor  of  a  Yarn,  Wicking  and  Batt  Man- 
ufactory at  Mount  Hope  Village. 


PRINT    WORKS 


THE    AMERICAN   PRINT   WORKS 


Was  established  in  1834.  The  number  of  yards  printed  per  annum 
is  15,000,000.  Number  of  persons  employed  is  275.  The  works 
are  driven  by  water  power  and  three  steam  engines  of  about  350 
horse  power. 


THE    BAY    STATE   PRINT   WORKS 


Are  now  leased  to  the  American  Print  Works  Co.  They  print 
11,000,000  yards  of  cloth  per  annum,  and  employ  200  persons. 
Motive  power,  one  steam  engine. 


HISTORY    OF    PALL    RIVER. 


FALL   RIVER   IRON   WORKS. 


The  Fall  River  Iron  Works  Company  was  incorporated  in  1825, 
with  a  capital  of  $200,000,  which  capital,  in  1845,  was  increased 
to  its  present  amount,  $1,000,000.  The  works  are  carried  on  in 
three  buildings — a  Rolling  Mill,  Nail  Mill,  and  Foundry. 

The  Rolling  Mill  is  412  feet  in  length  and  100  in  breadth.  The 
Nail  Mill  is  22G  feet  in  length  and  44  in  breadth. 

The  machinery  in  the  Rolling  Mill  is  driven  by  one  water  wheel 
and  three  steam  engines  ;  in  the  Nail  Mill  by  one  steam  engine. 
The  number  of  puddling  and  heating  furnaces  is  24.  Number  of 
tons  of  coal  consumed  per  annum,  12,000.  Amount  of  pig  iron 
worked,  6,000  tons;  of  scrap,  4,000;  of  bloom  and  billet,  300. 
Number  of  tons  of  castings  produced,  1,500  ;  of  hoop  and  bar  iron 
rods,  &c,  3,000. 

There  are  106  nail  machines,  which  manufacture  112,000  kegs  of 
nails  per  annum.  When  in  full  operation,  the  mills  require  600 
workmen. 


THE   FALL   RIVER   GAS   COMPANY 


Commenced  operations  in  1847.  The  works  are  owned  by  the  Fall 
River  Iron  Works  Co.,  and  consume  about  1,000  tons  of  coal  per 
annum. 


FLOUR    MILLS. 


THE   MASSASOIT   FLOUR    MILLS 

Use  eight  runs  of  stone — six  for  flour  and  two  for  feed  ;  manufac- 
ture 200  bbls.  of  flour  daily,  and  employ  about  twenty  hands. 
They  turn  out  several  qualities  of  flour,  the  brand  of  the  best  being 
Massasoit.  The  machinery  is  driven  by  an  engine  of  250  horse 
power.  The  mills  were  established  in  1852,  and  are  owned  by 
Messrs.  S.  A.  Chace  and  E.  C.  Nason. 

M 


00  HISTORY    OP   FALL   RIVER. 

THE    BRISTOL    COUNTY   FLOUR   MILLS 

Were  established  in  1852.  They  use  4  runs  of  stone,  manufacture 
80  barrels  flour  daily,  and  employ  12  hands.  Bristol  County  is  the 
brand  of  their  best  grade  of  flour.  The  motive  power  is  an  engine 
of  120  horse  power.     D.  A.  Bray  ton  proprietor. 


THE    FALL   RIVER    FLOUR   MILLS 

Were  established  in  1861;  use  3  runs  of  stone;  manufacture  25 
barrels  flour  and  300  bags  meal  daily,  and  employ  5  hands.  Brand 
of  flour,  Fall  River  Mill.  Motive  power,  one  engine  of  40  horse 
power.     D.  Brown  &  Son  proprietors. 


MISCELLANEOUS     STATISTICS. 


BANKS. 


THE   FALL   RIVER   UNION   BANK 


Was  incorporated  in  1823,  with  a  nominal  capital  of  $200,000 — 
the  same  amount  as  at  the  present  time.  The  President  is  Nath'l 
B.  Borden,  elected  in  1845.  The  President  preceding  him  was 
David  Durfee.  The  Cashier  is  D.  A.  Chapin,  elected  in  1860,  the 
successor  of  Wm.  Coggeshall. 

THE   FALL   RIVER    BANK 

Was  incorporated  in  1825,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  The  pres- 
ent capital  is  $350,000.  David  Anthony  has  been  President  of  the 
Bank  since  its  establishment,  and  H.  H.  Fish,  Cashier  since  1836. 

THE   FALL   RIVER   INSTITUTION   FOR   SAVINGS 

Was  incorporated  in  1828.  In  1856  the  name  was  changed  to 
Fall  River  Savings  Bank.  The  President  from  1828  to  1857,  was 
Micah  H.  Kuggles ;  from  1857  to  the  present  time,  Nathaniel  B. 


HISTORY   OP   PALL  RIVER.  91 

Borden.  Treasurer  since  183G,  J.  F.  Lindsey.  The  number  of 
depositors,  according  to  the  last  annual  report,  was  5,710.  The 
amount  on  deposite,  $1/759,745. 

THE    MASSASOIT   BANK 

Was  incorporated  in  1846,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  The  pres- 
ent capital  is  $200,000.  Jason  II.  Archer  was  President  from  1840 
to  1852.  Israel  Buffinton  from  1852  to  the  present  time.  Cashier 
since  1846,  Lcander  Borden. 

THE    SAVINGS    BANK 

Was  incorporated  in  October,  1851.  In  that  year  Joseph  Osborn 
was  chosen  President,  and  Wm.  H.  Brackett  Treasurer,  and  they 
have  held  those  offices  to  the  present  date.  Number  of  depositors  in 
February,  1862,  was  1,439.     Amount  on  deposite,  $694,767. 

THE   METACOMET    BANK 

Was  incorporated  in  1853,  with  a  capital  of  $400,000,  which  is 
now  increased  to  $600,000.  The  Bank  organized  with  Jefferson 
Borden,  President,  and  A.  S.  Tripp,  Cashier,  which  gentlemen  have 
been  continued  in  office  to  the  present  time. 

THE    POCASSET    BANK 

Was  incorporated  in  May,  1854,  with  a  capital  of  $200,000,  the 
same  amount  as  at  the  present  date.  Oliver  Chace  was  President 
from  June,  1854,  to  January,  1862,  when  Samuel  Hathaway  was 
elected  to  that  office.  Wm.  H.  Brackett  has  held  the  office  of  Cash- 
ier from  June,  1854,  to  the  present  time. 

THE   FALL   RIVER   FIVE   CENTS    SAVINGS    BANK 

Was  incorporated  January,  1856,  with  the  same  President  and 
Treasurer  as  now  hold  office,  S.  A.  Chace  and  C.  J.  Holmes.  The 
number  of  depositors  is  2,450.     Amount  on  deposite,  $160,000. 

THE    WAMSUTTA    BANK 

Was  incorporated  in  October,  1856,  with  the  same  capital  as  at  the 
present  time,  $100,000.  S.  A.  Chace  has  held  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent, and  C.  J.  Holmes  that  of  Cashier,  since  the  organization  of 
the  Bank. 


92  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

OLD    COLONY   AND    FALL   RIVER 

RAIL   ROAD    COMPANY. 


On  the  21st  of  March,  1844,  a  charter  was  obtained  for  building 
a  rail  road  from  Fall  River  to  Myricks,  and  in  June  of  the  following 
year  the  first  passenger  train  was  run  over  the  completed  Fall  River 
railway.  In  December,  1846,  the  route  was  opened  as  far  as  South 
Braintree,  there  connecting  with  the  Old  Colony  road  to  Boston. 

Through  travel  from  Boston  to  New  York  by  way  of  Fall  River, 
commenced  in  May,  1847.  In  1854,  the  two  corporations — the  Old 
Colony  and  the  Fall  River  rail  roads — were  united  under  the  name 
of  the  Old  Colony  and  Fall  River  Rail  Road  Company.  Their  cap- 
ital was  then,  and  is  at  the  present  time,  $3,015,100. 

In  1861,  a  charter  was  obtained  for  extending  the  Old  Colony 
and  Fall  River  Rail  Road  through  the  city  to  the  Rhode  Island  line. 
A  charter  was  previously  obtained  from  the  Rhode  Island  Genraal 
Assembly,  to  construct  a  road  from  Newport  to  this  point.  The 
road  from  Fall  River  to  Newport  is  in  process  of  construction  at  the 
present  time. 


THE  BAY  STATE  STEAMBOAT  COMPANY 


Was  incorporated  in  1849,  with  a  capital  of  $300,000.  Richard 
Borden  has  held  the  office  of  President,  and  James  S.  Warner,  the 
offices  of  Clerk  and  Treasurer,  since  the  organization  of  the  Com- 
pany. The  first  boats  that  connected  with  the  Fall  River  Rail  Road, 
on  the  route  between  Boston  and  New  York,  were  the  Massachu- 
setts and  Bay  State.  These  began  running  in  May,  1847.  The 
Empire  State  was  placed  on  the  route  in  June,  1848,  and  the  Me- 
tropolis in  1855.  The  Company  now  own  the  Metropolis,  of  2,108 
tons,  length  of  deck  340  feet ;  the  Empire  State,  of  1,598  tons, 
length  of  deck  320  feet ;  the  Bay  State,  of  1,554  tons,  length  of 
deck  320  feet ;  and  the  State  of  Maine,  of  806  tons,  length  of  deck 
237  feet. 

CUSTOM     HOUSE. 


The  following  statistics,  compared  with  those  given  on  page  34, 
will  show  the  variation  in  the  commerce  of  this  place  since  1840. 


HISTORY   OF   FALL   RIVER, 


03 


The  number  of  vessels  owned  in  the  District  of  Fall  River  in 
1850,  was  85  ;  in  18G0,  123. 

Tonnage  of  the  District  in  1850,  11,312  tons;  in  18(10,  14,204 
tons. 

In  1850,  the  number  of  vessels  employed  in  the  whale  fishery  w:i- 
3,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  865  tons  ;  in  18G0,  2  vessels  \  tonnage, 
493. 

Number  of  seamen  employed  in  the  District  in  1850,  was  500; 
in  1860,  518. 

Number  of  foreign  entries  in  1850,  was  39  ;  in  1860,  15. 

American  tonnage  entered  from  foreign  countries  in  1850,  3,179  ; 
in  1860,   1,446. 

Amount  of  coal  imported  in  1850,  7,844  tons  ;  in  1860,   2,771. 

No  iron  has  been  imported  since  1850. 

Amount  of  duties  collected  in  1850,  $5,435  ;  in  1860,  $1,928: 

In  1850,  there  were  owned  in  the  port  of  Fall  River,  40  vessels 
with  a  total  tonnage  of  8,816  tons  ;  in  1860,  61  vessels,  with  a 
tonnage  of  14,204  tons. 


POPULATION    AND    VALUATION 
OF    FALL    RIVER. 


VALUATION, 

YEAR. 

POPULATION. 

REAL  AND  PERSONAL. 

1840 

6,738 

$2,989,468 

1845 

10,290 

5,698,740 

1850 

11,170 

7,423,665 

1855 

12,740 

9,768,420 

1860 

13,240 

11,522,650 

1862 

17,262 

Increase  of  population  obtained  in  March,  1862,  by  change  of  Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island  Boundary,  3,593. 


04 


HISTORY    OF   FALL    RIVER. 


NUMBER   OF   DEATHS   AND     BIRTHS 
IN   EACH   YEAR  SUBSEQUENT  TO    1845. 


YEARS. 

DEATHS 

BIRTHS 

YEARS. 

DEATHS 

BIRTHS 

YEARS. 

DEATHS 

BIRTHS 

1846 

209 

382 

1851 

179 

317 

1856 

401 

497 

1847 

186 

403 

1852 

220 

411 

1857 

436 

504 

1848 

218 

364 

1853 

381 

420 

1858 

301 

507 

1849 

167 

342 

1854* 

451 

315 

1859 

329 

517 

1850 

176 

309 

1855 

326 

322 

1860 
1861 

373 

468 

505 
532 

*The  cholera  made  its  appearance  in  this  city  on  the  24th  of  August,  1854,  and 
continued  its  ravages  until  October  5th,  of  the  same  year — a  period  of  six  weeks, — 
during  which  time  one  hundred  and  nineteen  persons  died  of  the  disease. 


PUBLIC     SCHOOLS. 


DATE 

CO 

o 
o 

o 

his  of  Chil- 
in  School 
ricts.* 

nt  Expended 
he  Town. 

o 

*    Oh 
C/22 

DATE. 

o 

o 

GQ 

Cm 

O 

jus  of  Chil- 
in  School 
ricts. 

ftp 

M  o 

a 

.2 

It 

cog 

6 

S  g  .2 

lb 

a, 

< 

6 

1843 

19 

1943 

$5213 

$255 

1853 

25 

2658 

$11724 

$551 

1844 

24 

2135 

4762 

270 

1854 

26 

2761 

12979 

625 

1845 

21 

2372 

5538 

309 

1855 

27 

2718 

13479 

662 

1846 

22 

2727 

6119 

392 

1856 

31 

2738 

14905 

603 

1847 

21 

2611 

6900 

421 

1857 

31 

2880 

14467 

556 

1848 

21 

2786 

9140 

455 

1858 

30 

2833 

16084 

612 

1849 

26 

2834 

9629 

448 

1859 

31 

2781 

16038 

594 

1850| 

26 

2502 

10179 

453 

1860 

31 

2855 

17122 

584 

1851 

26 

2510 

10930 

1861 

32 

3221 

17552 

585 

1852 

27 

2477 

11403 

539 

*On  and  after  1850,  the  Committee  numbered  only  those  between  the  ages  of  five 
and  fifteen;  previously  they  included  all  between  four  and  sixteen. 

tin  this  }rear  the  High  School  was  established.  George  B.  Stone  was  its  Princi- 
pal until  May,  1855 ;  from  that  time  until  August,  1858,  James  B.  Pearson ;  and 
since  1858,  Charles  B.  Goff. 


CITY     LIBRARY. 

In  18G0,  arrangements  were  made  by  the  City  Government  for 
the  establishment  of  a  free  circulating  library,  and  an  appropriation 
was  made  for  that  object,  and  a  room  prepared  in  the  City  Building 
for  the  reception  of  books.     According  to  agreement,  the  library  of 


HISTORY    OF    PALL    RIVEB. 


95 


the  Fall  River  Athenaeum  (pp.  38)  was  transferred  to  this  room,  and 
placed,  with  certain  restrictions,  at  the  disposal  of  the  government. 
The  books  thus  contributed  were  valued  at  $3,000. 

The  library  was  opened  for  circulation  May  1,  18G1.  From  the 
Librarian's  report  of  January  13,  18(12,  it  appeals  that  there  were 
received  from  the  Athenaeum,  2,3G2  volumes  ;  by  donation.  229  | 
by  purchase,  541  ;  total,  3,132.f  Number  of  magazines  and  papers 
received,  15.  Average  number  of  books  circulated  per  day,  90. 
Number  of  volumes  delivered  from  May  1,  18G1,  to  May  1,  18G2, 
30,252. 

The  officers  of  the  library  are  : — Trustees,  E.  P.  Buffinton,  Henry 
Lyon,  Walter  Paine,  3d,  P.  W.  Leland,  Simeon  Borden,  Samuel 
M.  Brown,  and  C.  J.  Holmes.      Librarian,   George  A.  Ballard. 


NEWSPAPERS   AND   PERIODICALS. 


TITLE  OF  PAPER. 


Fall  River  Monitor, 

Moral  Envoy, 
Weekly  Recorder, 
Fall  River  Patriot, 
Archetype,        .     . 
Fall  River  Gazette, 
The  Argus,       .     . 
The  Wampanoag, 
All  Sorts,  .    . 

The  Mechanic, 
Weekly  News, 
Mass.  Musical  Journal 
The  Key  Note,      . 
Evening  Star, 
The  Beacon,     .    . 
The  Daily  News,  . 
The  People's  Press, 


1825 

11830 
11832 

11837 
J1841 
1842 
1842 
1842 
1841 
1844 
1845 
1855 
1855 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1859 


Weeklv. 


Semi-Mo. 
Weekly. 

(C 

<( 

Semi-Mo. 
Daily. 

Semi-W'lv 


1861 
1831 


Editors  or  Publishers. 


(  Nathan  Hall  to  1829,  Ben j. Earl 
\  to  1836,  Henry  Pratt  to  1861. 
George  W.  Allen. 

1836;Noel  A.  Tripp. 

1840jWilliam  Canfield. 

1842^0^3  Lapham  &  Thos.  Almy. 

1842  Abraham  Bowen. 

18431  Jonathan  Slade  &  Thos.  Almy. 

1842;Frances  Harriet  Whipple. 

I860! Abraham  Bowen. 

1845|Thomas  Almy. 
*   iThos.  Almy  &  John  C.  Milne. 

1856E.  Tourjee. 


1858  Noel  A.  Tripp  &  B.  W.  Pierce. 

1859  Noal  A.  Tripp. 

*  Thos.  Almy  and  John  C.  Milne. 

*  'Noel  A.  Tripp. 


Those  marked  thus  *  are  still  continued. 


SHOPS,     STORES,     &c. 

The  number  of  shops  and  stores  in  Fall  River  in  18G1,  was  about 
400.  There  were  5  Apothecaries,  22  Boot  and  Shoe  dealers  and 
makers,  6  Printers,  4  Carriage  builders,  18  Dry  Goods  merchants. 
64  Grocers,  13  Physicians,  and  6  Watch  makers  and  Jewelers. 

f  Since  this  report  was  published,  240  volumes  have  been  added  to  the  Library- 
making  the  total,  at  the  present  time.  4,372. 


96  HISTORY    OF   FALL   RIVER. 

LIST    OF    PERSONS 

who  have  filled  the  several  town  offices  named 

Since  1840. 

Town  Clerk.—  Benjamin  Earl  from  1836  to  1846.  George  Baker  from 
1846  to  1848.  Samuel  B.  Hussey  from  1848  to  1852.  John  R.  Hodges 
in  1852  and  1853. 

SELECTMEN. 

1840 — Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Israel  Anthony,  William  Read. 

1841 — Matthew  C.  Durfee,  Israel  Anthony,  William  Read. 

1842— Jervis  Shove,  Stephen  K.  Crary,  George  Brightman. 

1843 — Jervis  Shove,  Israel  Anthony,  Perez  Mason. 

1844 — Thomas  D.  Chaloner,  Israel  Anthony,  Perez  Mason. 

1845 — Thomas  D.  Chaloner,  Israel  Anthony,  Perez  Mason. 

1846 — Israel  Anthony,  Leander  Borden,  James  M.  Morton. 

1847 — Azariah  Shove,  Israel  Anthony,  Benjamin  Earl. 

1848 — Benjamin  Ward  well,  Israel  Anthony,  Benjamin  Earl. 

1849 — Thomas  J.  Pickering,  David  Perkins,  Benjamin  Earl. 

1850 — David  Perkins,  Thomas  J.  Pickering,  Daniel  Brown. 

1851 — Thomas  J.Pickering,  James  Buffinton,  Daniel  Brown. 

1852 — James  Buffinton,  Chester  W.  Greene,  Geo.  O.  Fairbanks,  Azariah 

Shove,  Leander  Borden. 
1853 — James  Buffinton,  Chester  W.  Greene,  Thomas  T.  Potter,   George 

O.  Fairbanks,  Azariah  Shove. 

GENERAL  SCHOOL   COMMITTEE. 

1840 — Orin  Fowler,  Asa  Bronson,  James  Ford,  Eliab  Williams,  Joseph 
Lindsey,  Jonathan  S.  Thompson,  George  M.  Randall. 

1841— Joseph  Lindsey,  William  H.  A.  Crary,  George  M.  Randall. 

1842— George  M.  Randall,  William  H.  A.  Crary,  John  Westall. 

1843—  George  M.  Randall,  William  H.  A.  Crary,  John  Westall. 

1844 — Henry  Willard,  Joseph  F.  Lindsey,  Jonathan  Slade,  Louis  Lapham, 
John  Gregory. 

1845 — William  H.  A.  Crary,  David  Perkins,  Samuel  B.  Hussey. 

1846 — William  H.  A.  Crary,  Charles  Aldrich,  Samuel  Washburn. 

1847— William  H.  A.  Crary,  David  Perkins,  Charles  Aldrich. 

1848— Charles  Aldrich,  George  O.  Fairbanks,  P.  W.  Hathaway. 

1849 — George  O.  Fairbanks,  Henry  Willard,  Samuel  Longfellow. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER, 


1850— George  0.  Fairbanks,  Samuel  Longfellow,  Henry  Willard,  Eli 
Thurston,  Jason  II.  Archer,  Thomas  Wilbur,  Jesse  Eddy. 

1851— Samuel  Longfellow,  Jesse  Eddy,  Eli  Thurston,  Emery  M.  Porter, 
Azariah  S.  Tripp,  Robert  T.  Davis. 

1852— Azariah  S.  Tripp,  Eli  Thurston,  James  M.  Aldrich,  David  A.  Wal- 
lace, Jerome  Dwelly. 

1853— David  A.  Wallace,  Eli  Thurston,  James  M.  Aldrich,  Azariah  S. 
Tripp,  Jerome  Dwelly,  Job  G.  Lawton,  Benjamin  H.  Davis. 

1854— Eli  Thurston,  James  M.  Aldrich,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,  Jerome  Dwelly, 
Benjamin  H.  Davis,  Job  G.  Lawton. 


C  I T  Y    GOVERN  M E  N T . 


In  the  month  of  January,  1854,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Fall  River  appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of  nine  individuals,  to 
draft  a  City  Charter.  This  committee  prepared  and  presented  a 
Charter,  which  was  accepted,  with  some  amendments,  at  a  meeting 
of  the  towns-people,  on  the  eighteenth  of  February  ;  124  voting  for 
and  51  against  it.  The  same  committee  was  authorized  to  apply- 
to  the  Legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation  for  a  City  Government. 

The  Charter,  as  accepted  by  the  town,  was  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture. April  11,  1854,  the  Senate  voted  it  to  be  engrossed.  April 
12,  the  governor  affixed  his  signature,  and  it  became  a  law,  making 
Fall  River  the  thirteenth  City  incorported  by  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

April  23,  in  town  meeting,  the  Charter  was  accepted,  529  votes 
being  cast  for  and  247  against  it, 

This  Charter  provided  for  the  annual  election  on  the  first  Monday 
in  March,  of  City  Officers  ;  consisting  of  a  Mayor,  and  one  Alder- 
man and  three  Common  Councilmen  from  each  of  the  six  wards  into 
which  the  city  was  to  be  divided ;  this  Government  to  be  organized 
on  the  first  Monday  in  April.  But  by  an  amendment  of  the  Charter 
in  1860,  the  time  of  election  and  organization  was  changed  to  De- 
cember and  January,  three  months  earlier. 

N 


98  HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER. 

Since  the  incorporation   of  the  City,  the  following  persons  have 
been  elected  to  fill  its  several  offices  : 


CITY    CLERK. 

John  R.  Hodges,  from    1854  to  1855,  and  Alvin  S.  Ballard,  from  1855  to 
the  present  time. 

MAYOR. 


James  Buffinton,  from  1854  to  November,  1855,  when  he  resigned,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Edward  P.  Buffinton,  who  continued  in  office  until  1857. 
Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  in  1857  ;  Josiah  C.  Blaisdell,  from  1858  to  1860  5  and 
Edward  P.  Buffinton,  from  1860  to  the  present  time. 


ALDERMEN. 

1854 — James  Henry,  Edward  P.  Buffinton,  Oliver  Hathaway,  Alvan  S.  Bal- 
lard, Edwin  Shaw,  Julius  B.  Champney. 

1855 — James  Henry,  Edward  P.  Buffinton,  resigned  Nov.  12,  William  M. 
Cook,  elected  Nov.  24,  Oliver  H.  Hathaway,  Isaac  L.  Hart,  Edwin 
Shaw,  Major  Borden. 

1856— James  Henry,  William  M.  Cook,  James  M.  Osborn,  John  P.  Slade, 
James  Ford,  David  A.  Brayton,  resigned  Oct.  13,  Smith  Winslow, 
elected  Nov.  4. 

1857— James  Henry,  South'd  H.  Miller,  resigned  Jan.  18,  Joshua  Reming- 
ton, elected  Jan.  27,  John  P.  Slade,  William  Mason,  2d,  William 
Carr. 

1858 — William  Hill,  Joshua  Remington,  James  M.  Osborn,  Walter  C.  Dur- 
fee,  Charles  O.  Shove,  Ellis  Gifford. 

1859— James  Henry,  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Ebenezer  Luther,  Walter  C. 
Durfee,  Charles  O.  Shove,  Benjamin  Earl. 

I860— James  Henry,  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Asa  Pettey,  Jr.,  John  P.  Slade, 
Charles  O.  Shove,  William  B.  Durfee. 

1861— Geo.  H.  Eddy,  Nathaniel  B.  Borden  Asa  Pettey,  Jr.,  John  Mason 
Jr.,  James  Ford,  Job  B.  Ashly. 

1862— Joseph  Borden,  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Asa  Pettey,  Jr.,  John  Mason, 
Jr.,  James  Ford,  Job  B.  Ashley. 


HISTORY    OF    FALL    RIVER.  00 

GENERAL   SCHOOL   COMMITTEE. 

1855 — Eli  Thurston,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,  Jerome  Dwelly,  Benjamin  H.  Davis, 

James  M.  Aldrich,  Joseph  E.  Dawley,  S.  Angier  Chace. 
1856— James  Ford,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,  James  M.  Aldrich,  Jerome  Dwelly, 

Joseph  E.  Dawley,  Ebenezer  T.  Lamed,  S.  Angier  Chace. 
1857— S.  Angier  Chace,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,  James  M.  Aldrich,  Almadus  W. 

Tripp,  Emery  M.  Porter,  James  W.  Hartley,  Robert  E.  Barnett. 
1858— Azariah  S.  Tripp,  William  Maclaren,  James  M.  Aldrich,  Robert  E. 

Barnett,  James  W.  Hartley,  Almadus  W.  Tripp,  Emery  M.  Porter. 
1859 — William  Maclaren,  Eli  Thurston,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,  Emery  M.  Porter, 

Almadus  W.  Tripp,  Warren  Hathaway,  S.  Angier  Chace. 
1860 — William  Maclaren,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,  Seth  Pooler,  Joseph  E.  Dawley, 

Jerome  Dwelly,  J.  Lewis  Diman,  James  M.  Aldrich. 
1861 — William   Maclaren,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,   Joseph  E.  Dawley,  Foster 

Hooper,  Charles  A.  Snow,  Simeon  Borden. 
1862— William  Maclaren,  Azariah  S.  Tripp,   Joseph  E.  Dawley,  Foster 

Hooper,  Charles  A.  Snow,  Simeon  Borden. 


MEMBERS     OF     CONGRESS 

FROM   FALL   RIVER. 


Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Orin  Fowler,  and  James  Buffinton,  have  been  Rep- 
resentatives to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  subsequent  to  1840. 


NAMES   OF   SENATORS    AND    REPRESENTATIVES 

TO   THE   MASSACHUSETTS   LEGISLATURE. 

SENATORS. 

Foster  Hooper,  1840-42  :  P.  W.  Leland,  1843;  N.  B.Borden,  1845-47  ; 
Orin  Fowler,  1848;  Richard  Borden,  1854:  Joseph  E.  Dawley,  1855-56; 
Jeremiah  S.  Young,  1857 ;  Robert  T.  Davis,  1859-61. 


100  HISTORY    OF    FALL   RIVER. 


REPRESENTATIVES. 

1842 — Jonathan  Slade,  King  Dean,  William  H.  Ashley. 

1843— Jonathan  Slade,  Wm.  A.  Waite,  Wm.  V.  Read. 

1844 — Simeon  Borden,  Sen.,  Thomas  D.  Chaloner,  Nathan  Durfee. 

1845 — Simeon  Borden,  James  B.  Luther,  Benjamin  F.  White. 

1846— Chas.  J.  Holmes,  Benj.  W.  Miller,  Albert  G.  Eaton. 

1847— David  Perkins,  Benj. -Earl,  Benj.  W.  Miller. 

1848 — David  Perkins,  Hezekiah  Battelle,  Wm,  R.  Robeson. 

1849 — Simeon  Borden,  Benj.  Ward  well,  James  Ford,  2d. 

1850 — Iram  Smith,  Azariah  Shove. 

1851— Nath'l  B.  Borden,  Richard  Borden,  J.  B.  Luther,  Richard  C.  French, 

1852— Nathan  D.  Dean,  Iram  Smith,  E.  P.  Buffinton,  Southard  H.  Miller. 

1853— None. 

1854 — Mark  A.  Slocum,  Job  G.  Lawton. 

1855 — Daniel  Leonard,  Asa  P.  French,  Jona.  E.  Morrill,  Benj.  H.  Davis. 

1856 — Brayton  Slade,  Jona.  E.  Morrill,  John  S.  Brayton,  Job  B.  Ashley. 

1857 — Jona.  E.  Morrill,  Vernon  Cook,  Brownell  W.  Woodman,  John  E. 

Grouard. 
1858 — Josiah  C.  Blaisdell,  Jonathan  E.  Morrill. 
1859— Stephen  C.  Wrightington,  Thomas  T.  Potter. 
1860— Lloyd  S.  Earl,  Stephen  C.  Wrightington. 
1861— Lloyd  S.  Earl,  Stephen  C.  Wrightington. 
1862 — Simeon  Borden,  Henry  Pratt. 


